WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! It looks like we won’t be seeing a merger between Shell and BP just yet, as Shell denies that it is looking to take over its British rival.
This week’s heat wave continues to hang over the Midwest and East Coast, with temperatures expected to break later today. We hope you have been able to stay cool and shaded over the last few days. In today’s issue of Daily on Energy, we take a look at FERC’s reaction to how grid operators handled the high temperatures and soaring energy demand that followed.
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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.
SHELL DENIES BP MERGER TALKS: Shell is denying that it engaged in talks to acquire BP, after the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the two oil companies were in early discussions of a merger.
“In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer,” Shell said in a statement.
The reported deal would have been the largest in the sector since the merger that created Exxon Mobil. The merger would have put Shell in a better position to compete with Exxon and Chevron. In recent years, BP has struggled to compete with other oil companies due to its failing efforts to transition toward renewable energy.
FERC APPLAUDS HANDLING OF HEAT WAVE, AND OFFERS A WARNING: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission praised the way system and grid operators managed soaring energy demand seen this week as high temperatures hit across the Northeast and Midwest.
The details: As several major cities saw record-high temperatures into the triple digits this week, the Americans affected (including us) did anything they could to keep cool, from relying on cold water to blasting air conditioning units inside. Electricity usage shot up as a result, straining already tight grids. Luckily, though, there were no reports of major load sheds or outages in the affected areas.
“Our grids operators, both RTO (regional transmission operator) and non-RTO did a pretty amazing job managing through this very challenging event,” FERC chairman Mark Christie said during the commission’s monthly meeting on Thursday. “All the systems were tight.”
Christie later told members of the press that some grid operators, like PJM Interconnection, saw peak load levels on the grid this week, with very little energy left over. PJM specifically peaked on Monday evening with 161 gigawatts of load and around 10 gigawatts of reserves.
Not enough: While grid operators were able to get through the heat wave without any major distributions, the chairman issued a warning that all will need more energy generation in the near future. Christie has repeatedly called for more baseload energy from sources like natural gas during his time on the commission, while criticizing sources like wind and solar for their intermittency.
“You never know about the next time, and there’s going to be a next time, and we’ve got to have more resources,” he said. “The bottom line, we’ve got to have more resources because no one thinks load isn’t going to keep going up. No one thinks that we’re not going to keep having more data centers…and that’s the challenge we face.”
META ENTERS AGREEMENTS TO SUPPORT DATA CENTERS WITH RENEWABLES: Meta is increasing its investments in carbon-free energy, entering multiple purchase agreements with renewable energy developer Invenergy to power its data centers.
The details: The clean energy agreements were announced this morning, representing a total of 791 megawatts of additional solar and wind energy that Meta plans to buy. The power will be coming from four wind and solar energy facilities in Ohio, Arkansas, and Texas that are expected to be operational by 2027 and 2028.
It is the latest move by Meta to match 100% of its electricity use with clean and renewable energy. Last year, Meta also said that it would be purchasing around 1,000 megawatts of clean energy from Invenergy. That has now grown to around 1,800 megawatts with today’s announcement.
“We’re laser-focused on advancing our AI ambitions—and to do that, we need clean, reliable energy,” Urvi Parekh, Meta’s Head of Global Energy, said in a statement.
Worth noting: It was not immediately clear how much Meta would be paying for clean energy. However, it is a notable investment in solar and wind technologies, as tax credits for renewables remain on the chopping block in Republicans’ tax bill making its way through the Senate. It signals that there are some big players within the private sector willing to help prop up more deployment and advancement for renewable energy sources, even if federal subsidies are stripped away.
NUCLEAR ENERGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONTINUE TO PARTNER UP: The nuclear energy and advanced technology industries continue to work hand in hand in getting more power and artificial intelligence up and running in the U.S., with two major moves announced today.
Record-breaking campus: Texas-based Fermi America, which is run by former energy secretary and Texas governor Rick Perry, has submitted an application to build nuclear reactors on what could potentially be the largest data center campus in the world.
The application, obtained by the Washington Post, reveals that the company is looking to construct four one-gigawatt reactors, commonly referred to as AP1000 units, with the construction starting as soon as next year. Nuclear power will just be one type of energy powering the massive data center campus, with several natural gas plants intended to supply roughly 11 gigawatts of electricity.
According to the application, this massive data center site will be named the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus, with each nuclear reactor also named after the president.
Fermi Executive Chairman Toby Neugebauer told the Washington Post that the company is seeking to build its ambitious nuclear complex by 2032. Typically, reactors of this size can take upward of 10 years to build. The company is hoping that by locating the campus in Texas, they will be able to accelerate the permitting and construction processes.
Using AI to speed things up: Fermi America isn’t the only company looking to speed the process to build nuclear reactors. This morning, AI-software company Palantir Technologies announced it was partnering up with The Nuclear Company to simplify reactor deployment.
The two companies will be developing what they have described as a Nuclear Operating System (NOS), which will be the first AI-driven software system created exclusively for constructing nuclear facilities. It will consist of providing guidance on scheduling, cost savings, and regulatory requirements. The software will also allow developers to create a digital twin model of their site, allowing them to track progress and prevent problems as they arise.
As part of the deal, The Nuclear Company will pay Palantir roughly $100 million over a five-year period to develop the software. It was not immediately clear by how much this software will speed up the construction process, though it builds upon President Donald Trump’s executive orders signed in May that called for 10 large-scale reactors to be under construction by 2030.
“NOS is how we finally break the cycle of delays, deliver a new energy future, and protect America’s nuclear leadership from China, so we don’t lose it like we did manufacturing decades ago,” The Nuclear Company founder and CEO Jonathan Webb said.
CLIMATE OFFICIALS FORCED TO “RETHINK MANY THINGS” AT COP30: The President of COP30, André Corrêa do Lagos, said that climate negotiators at this year’s COP30 in Brazil must “rethink many things” due to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
“The presidents of previous COPs think that the context in which they did their COPs was as complicated as this one, so I have to be modest about the complications,” Corrêa do Lagos said in an interview with Semafor.
“But the truth is that the fact that the US is leaving an agreement that was designed for the US to join is obviously something that obliged us to rethink many things,” he said.
COP30 is set to take place in Brazil in November. The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has raised doubts among climate officials about whether this year’s talks at COP30 will be successful.
The U.S. will officially be out of the Paris Agreement in 2026. But, in the meantime, the U.S. has actively stepped away from international talks and forums related to climate change.
ICYMI – DOI SEEKS TO FAST-TRACK OFFSHORE CRITICAL MINERALS DEVELOPMENT: The Department of Interior yesterday announced new policy changes to expedite the development of critical minerals on the seafloor.
Critical minerals are essential for the energy and defense sectors. The Trump administration has been actively seeking ways to bolster the domestic supply of critical minerals to reduce reliance on foreign nations like China.
Specifically, the department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will begin identifying potential areas for development before issuing a first formal request for information or forming a joint task force with state and federal agencies. The department said these changes could save projects from two months to more than a year.
BOEM will also begin preparing an environmental assessment during the lease sale phase. The department said that, if necessary, it will provide a more detailed environmental impact statement later. BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement will expedite critical mineral projects under the department’s emergency procedures and other laws.
The U.S. Geological Survey will provide the department with scientific data on critical mineral resources and potential environmental impacts and hazards with seafloor development.
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