WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! We have reached the end of another busy week in Washington, D.C., but it looks like the Senate will work into the weekend.
The clock is ticking – Republicans have one week left to pass the budget reconciliation bill before the July 4th deadline. Whether Congress will meet the deadline has yet to be determined. The Senate is reportedly planning a vote this weekend.
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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.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The fate of the clean energy tax credits in congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act remains uncertain, as the GOP continues to spar over the extent of rollbacks of the federal subsidies. Conservative Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has broken with the party to offer support for green and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, in recent days.
When asked whether he would oppose stronger repeals of the clean energy tax credits that some conservatives are pushing for, Grassley told Daily on Energy alum Josh Siegel this week, “I’m the father of the wind energy tax credit, that ought to answer your question.”
HOUSE REPUBLICANS REVOLT OVER MIKE LEE PUBLIC LAND SALE MEASURE: Sen. Mike Lee faces mounting opposition from fellow Republicans over his controversial measure to sell federal land for housing development.
In a letter, five House lawmakers yesterday warned House Speaker Mike Johnson that they would not vote for the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act if it includes Lee’s measure. The overall bill cannot pass if it loses the vote of five Republicans.
Republican Reps. Ryan Zinke of Montana, Mike Simpson of Idaho, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Cliff Bentz of Oregon, and David Valadao of California called the measure a “poison pill” that would cause the GOP bill to fail in the House.
The lawmakers’ threat comes as Lee awaits the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling on the measure. Earlier this week, Lee made adjustments to the measure that narrowed the scope of what lands would be eligible for sale after the parliamentarian axed the original version.
Lee is also meeting opposition from Republicans in the Senate. Yesterday evening, Sen. Steve Daines said he had enough votes to block Lee’s measure.
Read more by Maydeen here.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE TO BLOCK ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’: Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity are suing to block Florida’s plan to build an immigration detention center in the Everglades.
Florida officials are building a detention center dubbed the “Alligator Alcatraz.” The facility will be located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport just two hours west of Miami. It would hold at least 5,000 people picked up by immigration raids. The detention center is set to begin operating early July.
However, the environmental groups, which filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, argued that the construction of the center did not undergo an environmental review or public comment period. The groups noted that the Everglades is home to endangered species.
The lawsuit is filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County.
Earthjustice and Scott Hiaasen and Paul Schwiep are representing the Friends of the Everglades.
“This plan has had none of the environmental review that’s required by federal law,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice. “Cruelty aside, it defies common sense to put a mass of people, vehicles, and development in one of the most significant wetlands in the world. That’s why we’re going to court.”
Read more by Maydeen here.
WHERE ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’ STANDS: The total number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. fell once again this week, dropping by more than 30 rigs over the year, according to data released by Baker Hughes this afternoon.
The details: The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. – both onshore and offshore – dropped by roughly seven this week to a total of 547 – down by 34 rigs from this time last year. Of the seven dropped rigs, two were located offshore and five were onshore.
The data released today found that the number of oil rigs in the U.S., specifically, is 432, down by 47 on the year. Meanwhile, the number of natural gas rigs has increased by 12 on the year to 109, but still fell by two on the week.
The U.S. rig count has continuously dropped over the last two months, despite calls from Trump to “drill, baby, drill” and increase domestic oil and natural gas supply. His most recent call for more drilling came earlier this week amid high tensions between Israel and Iran, as some traders feared Iran would shut off the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt crude trade.
Oil prices: Those fears have since subsided, which is reflected in market prices as the price of oil dropped by nearly $10 throughout the week. As of around 2 p.m. EST, international benchmark Brent Crude was up by 0.24% Friday and selling at $67.89 per barrel. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate had risen by 0.38% and was priced at $65.49 per barrel.
GEORGIA REPUBLICANS BACK SOLAR: As the Senate continues to debate rollbacks for clean energy manufacturing tax credits in the OBBA, some Republican state leaders are urging Congress to preserve subsidies for solar.
The details: More than a dozen Republicans in Georgia’s state legislature have written to the Senate Finance Committee asking them not to weaken the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit and solar deployment tax credits they described as “pivotal” to the state’s solar industry.
The letter, obtained by Axios, said these tax credits have helped launch a “renaissance” of solar manufacturing in Georgia that has helped reduce reliance on materials from foreign adversaries like China.
“We urge you not to weaken the tax credits, as doing so would only harm the manufacturing renaissance in Georgia while creating opportunities for Chinese companies to take over the solar industry,” the 16 Republicans wrote.
Where the credits stand: As it is written, the Senate version of OBBA is not as harsh on wind and solar credits as the bill passed in the House, but it still rolls back federal support. The Senate text includes a phase-out of credits like the Clean Electricity Production Credit and the Clean Electricity Investment Credit, starting in 2026 and ending by 2028. There could be some last-minute changes, as Senate leadership has yet to call a vote on the package. But little time remains ahead of the president’s July 4 deadline to have the legislation passed.
DENMARK CALLS ON EUROPEAN UNION TO STICK WITH ENERGY TRANSITION: As the European Union has moved to soften a number of climate targets and green-related policies in recent months, one member state is calling on the bloc to avoid backtracking too far.
The details: Danish energy and climate minister Lars Aagaard issued the warning in a recent interview with Reuters, saying the EU must continue to transition away from traditional fossil fuel power sources to green alternatives like renewables and other carbon-free energy resources.
“The answer to Europe’s competitiveness is that we transition to using electricity for more things,” Aagaard told Reuters. “It’s that we can produce it ourselves. We can do that with renewable energy. We can do it with nuclear power.”
He insisted that it is not a “solution” for Europe’s climate and broader security challenges to halt any “green transition,” and indicated that the bloc appears to be getting distracted.
The backdrop: In the coming days, the European Commission will propose new climate targets that will call for EU emissions to be slashed by 90% when compared with 1990 levels by 2040. The target is intended to keep the bloc on track with its 2050 net zero goals, however, it is expected to be challenged by member states who say it is too ambitious. Some critics say the lofty goal carries high economic and social risks, asking for more flexibility through pathways like carbon credits or sector-specific targets.
ICYMI- U.S.-CHINA TRADE DEAL SIGNED: U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. and China have signed a trade deal that lays out commitments from Beijing to export rare earths.
“They’re going to deliver rare earths to us” and once they do that, “we’ll take down our countermeasures,” Lutnick told Bloomberg in an interview.
After Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing responded with export restrictions on rare earths that are key materials for the energy and defense sector. China controls the majority of critical minerals and rare earths.
The U.S. and China trade officials met earlier this month in London to discuss their trade relations and loosen Beijing’s grip over rare earths. Lutnick told Bloomberg that the administration will look to finalize several trade deals in the next two weeks.
“We’re going to do top 10 deals, put them in the right category, and then these other countries will fit behind,” he said.
RUNDOWN
CNN Lost underwater forests are returning to Sydney’s coastline
Grist A year after Helene, river guides in Appalachia are navigating a new world
BBC A third of Pacific island nation applies for Australian climate change visa