WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! The Supreme Court heard arguments over a dispute on storing nuclear waste in Texas. In today’s Daily on Energy, we break down what the case entails and the government’s position.
In other news, the U.S. is reportedly exiting an international partnership aimed at helping developing countries transition from coal to clean energy. Meanwhile, if you missed President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress yesterday, Callie and Maydeen take a look at his remarks regarding his predecessor’s impact on power plants in the U.S.
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Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
SUPREME COURT TAKES UP NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE DISPUTE: The Supreme Court heard arguments today on a decades-long dispute on storing nuclear waste, particularly looking at a storage facility in Texas approved by the federal government.
The case: The justices are being asked to rule on whether or not the Nuclear Regulatory Commission exceeded its authority by providing a license to private company Interim Storage Partners to store nuclear waste for 40 years. The license was first issued in September 2021, under the Biden administration, allowing the company to store 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at a facility in Andrews County, Texas – which also happens to sit above the oil-rich Permian Basin.
It is not abnormal for the NRC to issue such licenses to private companies, as the federal regulators have done so since 1980, according to Reuters. However, given the location of the facility and the environmental concerns surrounding nuclear waste, Permian Basin landowner Fasken Land and Minerals quickly challenged the license. The states of Texas and New Mexico also later joined the challenge, saying permanent solutions for nuclear waste storage already exist with Yucca Mountain. In 2023, the New Orleans 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the NRC did not have the authority to issue the license under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
The government’s position: Breaking from many of its early actions, the Trump administration is backing the Biden administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court ruling. In February, Trump’s acting solicitor general Sarah Harris told the justices that if the ruling remains in place, it “would grind the operations of nuclear reactors to a halt. Reactor operations automatically generate spent fuel; those operations cannot proceed if there is nowhere to store that spent fuel.”
The government has argued that objections from the states have no standing as they did not participate in the NRC’s licensing proceedings.
A decision is expected some time in June.
U.S. EXITS PARTNERSHIP TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. is exiting from the Just Energy Transition Partnership, which works to help developing countries transition to clean energy, Reuters reports.
The Just Energy Transition Partnership was announced in 2021. It consists of 10 wealthy nations that provide financial support for developing countries, such as South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Senegal, to help the transition from coal to clean energy.
Joanne Yawitch, head of the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit in South Africa, told Reuters that the U.S. had communicated its withdrawal from the country.
In addition, two foreign officials in Vietnam with direct knowledge of the matter said the U.S. was withdrawing from the country’s program and one of them noted that the U.S. was exiting from all JETP programs, including in Indonesia.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has stepped away from international climate groups and meetings. The U.S. is in the process of exiting from the United Nations Paris Agreement and recently stopped U.S. scientists from participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
TRUMP CLAIMS BIDEN SHUT DOWN 100+ POWER PLANTS: Trump again took aim at his predecessor during his joint address to Congress last night, claiming that the Biden administration shut down more than 100 power plants.
The claim: During his remarks Tuesday evening, Trump said a major focus on his administration was to rapidly reduce the cost of energy. “The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants,” Trump said. “We are opening up many of those power plants right now. And frankly, we have never seen anything like it.”
He did not specify what types of power plants the Biden administration may have shuttered, or if those plants were already closed or had only received closing dates.
When asked for clarification, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Callie: “Under the Biden administration, the U.S. was on track to close half of its coal-fired generation capacity by 2026. President Trump’s Great American Comeback will reverse Biden’s radical climate agenda and restore America’s energy dominance.”
The facts: Data compiled by the Energy Information Administration shows there were 11,070 power plants in the U.S. in 2020. The number jumped to 13,257 in 2023. That includes power plants run by coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear, renewables, and more.
However, given the White House’s emphasis on coal-fired generation, the president may have been referring to just coal-powered plants. The number of coal power plants in the U.S. only dropped from 284 to 227, a difference of 57, in the same time period. EIA has also estimated, though, that planned retirements of U.S. coal-fired power plants are expected to increase by 65% in 2025 compared to last year, with utilities retiring just over 8 gigawatts of coal capacity. It is important to note that a number of these plants may not have or be fully shuttered, as several have since shifted away from coal-power to natural gas, keeping the facility in operation.
Now, that’s not to say the Biden administration didn’t take major steps to accelerate the phase out of coal. By April 2023, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimated that the U.S. was on track to close half of operating coal capacity by 2026 — dropping to 159 gigawatts. These closures are attributed to a variety of factors, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions rules, fewer investments as more turn towards natural gas and renewables, and the aging of the facilities themselves, which can make the plants more expensive to run.
EIA was not immediately able to provide retirement data for 2024 and declined to comment on the president’s remarks.
GOLDEN PASS LNG GETS PERMITTING EXTENSION: The Department of Energy approved an export permit extension for Texas-based Golden Pass LNG, allowing the company to complete construction of its liquefied natural gas export terminal three years after its original deadline.
The details: Energy Secretary Chris Wright approved the permit extension this morning, more than six months after the company first asked regulators for more time. Golden Pass LNG has been facing a deadline of November 2026 to bring the terminal online, as its project approval permit was set to expire.
Last year, the company told Reuters that it planned to be producing LNG by the end of 2025 “with commercial operations following thereafter.” While exports operations could very well be under way before next year, the company said it was seeking the extension to “build in time for contingencies.”
Once completed, the project is expected to export up to 2.57 billion cubic feet per day of LNG, making it the ninth large-scale export terminal operating within the U.S.
Some background: The projects’ permit approval extension is the third LNG-related approval issued by the Department of Energy under Trump, who vowed to unleash the country’s capabilities with the energy source on day one. Trump ordered the restart of reviews of applications for approvals of new liquefied natural gas export projects, effectively ending a nearly yearlong freeze implemented by President Joe Biden. Since inauguration, DOE has also issued a new export authorization for the Commonwealth LNG project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and moved to remove barriers for the use of LNG as marine fuel.
UKRAINIAN ENERGY COMPANY MAY DRIVE INCREASED US GAS EXPORTS TO EUROPE: The largest private energy company in Ukraine, DTEK, is reportedly in talks to help increase imports of U.S. natural gas to Europe, helping reduce reliance on Russia.
The details: DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview that the company has been holding discussions with U.S. suppliers of LNG and is seeking to announce several deals later in 2025. He insisted that LNG can play a critical role in Europe’s energy mix, particularly by replacing Russian gas.
So far, DTEK has signed one agreement with U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global, with shipments set to travel through a Greek terminal before being introduced to the European network. The company isn’t only looking to the U.S., as it is also seeking to invest in renewable energy in the Black Sea and other parts of Europe to boost its existing capacity.
Key quote: “The investors’ mood has changed,” Timchenko told the outlet. “My great hope is that this year DTEK will announce several deals with foreign companies…We need private capital coming to Ukraine.”
TOP EPA NOMINEES TESTIFY BEFORE SENATORS: Two nominees picked to serve at the Environmental Protection Agency faced questions from lawmakers on Biden climate policies.
Who are the nominees? David Fotouhi was tapped to serve as the EPA’s deputy administrator. He is a partner at Gibson Dunn and Crutcher. He worked as a lawyer in the EPA in Trump’s first term, where he worked to roll back climate regulations.
In his most recent case, Fotouhi challenged the EPA’s recent ban of asbestos, which has been linked to the cancer mesothelioma.
Republican Utah Sen. John Curtis asked whether Fotouhi will prioritize the approval of the use of new chemicals. Curtis has urged the EPA to ensure new chemicals get timely approvals from the agency and noted that the Biden administration did not approve any new chemicals.
Fotouhi said he is committed to reviewing new chemicals as they often replace old ones and are more environmentally friendly.
Aaron Szabo was tapped to serve as EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. He currently serves as a senior advisor to the EPA administrator. Szabo has worked at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and the Council on Environmental Quality.
Democrat California Sen. Alex Padilla questioned Szabo on the process of the agency granting waivers to states under the Clean Air Act. He asked Szabo what specific statutory conditions can the EPA deny a waiver request for. Szabo could not recall the exact provision and Padilla called that a “red flag.”
“Does the Clean Air Act give the EPA discretion to deny a waiver simply because the administrator may disagree with California’s policy goals?” Padilla asked.
Szabo said “it would not be just because of policy goals.”
Under the Biden administration, the EPA approved a waiver for California to prohibit the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. However, Republicans in the House are seeking to slash the waiver through the Congressional Review Act.
ICYMI – TRUMP ENDS INTERNATIONAL AIR QUALITY PROGRAM: The Trump administration suspended a global air quality program that provided data to 80 embassies and consulates worldwide, the New York Times reports.
In an email, the State Department cited “budget constraints” as the reason for suspending the air quality program.
The program helped to support research and led to reductions in pollution in countries like China, the New York Times said. Data from the program would be posted on the AirNow website, but it is no longer available as of yesterday. There is also no longer data on the app.
Air monitors at embassies will continue to operate for an unknown length of time, the State Department said. Live data will go to the app or other platforms if “funding for the underlying network is resolved,” it said.
RUNDOWN
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