WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! The House Natural Resources Committee stayed busy until nearly 1 a.m., advancing its energy-focused portion of the Republicans’ reconciliation tax bill. Keep reading to find out what last-minute amendment GOP members were able to squeeze in.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright also appeared before Congress today, defending the Energy Department’s budget as he looks to increase nuclear investments in the private sector.
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Plus, the nuclear energy industry is getting another boost from Google, which has revealed its intent to fund the development of three new advanced nuclear sites.
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.
LPO NOT GOING ANYWHERE, CHRIS WRIGHT INDICATES: The Department of Energy will not be doing away with its Loan Programs Office but instead will use it to advance nuclear power projects, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said while speaking with Congress this morning.
The details: Wright discussed the LPO, which Republicans have sought to cut following its enlargement by Democrats under the Biden administration, while appearing before the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on energy and water development on Wednesday for a fiscal 2026 spending hearing focused on the DOE’s budget.
The secretary made it clear that, as the department intends to spearhead nuclear energy development in the United States, the LPO will play a critical role in providing federal funding for those efforts. But, it may not be as much as those in the industry might like, as Wright said private investment needs to be the driving force.
“We do have a reduction in spending within the Nuclear Energy Department at DOE,” Wright said. “It in no way indicates a lack of focus or a lack of desire or even a reduction in desire for nuclear energy.”
Wright said the biggest thing the U.S. needs to make nuclear energy work domestically is private investment capital. He explained that the administration is seeking to bring in tens of billions of dollars worth of private investments to get large reactors and small modular reactors built in the coming years. At the same time, Wright said, DOE will utilize grants from the Nuclear Energy Office as well as the LPO to provide capital.
“There will be government capital, as you’re well aware of, there’ll be government loans and loan guarantees, and they’ll be catalyzing regulatory events to bring that private capital in,” Wright said.
Read more from Callie here.
GOOGLE TO FUND SEVERAL NEW NUCLEAR SITES: Google is expanding its nuclear energy investments, announcing today that it has signed an agreement with Elementl Power to provide funding to new advanced nuclear sites.
The details: While exact terms of the agreement have yet to be made public, Google said it will commit early-stage development capital to three advanced nuclear projects developed by Elementl. These projects are expected to generate at least 600 megawatts of power and Google will have the option to purchase some of the power once they are up and running.
The funding from Google is expected to be used for permitting, contract negotiations, interconnection planning, and more, according to CNBC.
“Google is committed to catalyzing projects that strengthen the power grids where we operate, and advanced nuclear technology provides reliable, baseload, 24/7 energy,” Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy, said in a statement.
Nuclear renaissance: This is the latest collaboration between Big Tech and the energy industry to secure private sources of power to support data centers and artificial intelligence advancements. With the grid already facing strain from increased demand and a phase-out of fossil fuels – which the Trump administration is seeking to reverse – there has been an increased interest from large tech companies to support the development of new generation.
Advanced nuclear has been at the forefront of these conversations, with its reliability and potential to come online swiftly as attractive elements for investors. In October of last year, Google announced it would be purchasing power from several small modular reactors made by Kairos Power starting in 2030. The tech company is expected to build or have data centers near these SMRs.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE GRANTS: The Trump administration plans to eliminate dozens of National Park Service grants related to climate change, claiming it would save $26 million, the New York Times reports.
Two people with direct knowledge of the plan said Conor Fennessy, a staff member at the Department of Government Efficiency, created a spreadsheet of grants to be canceled. It included a list of grants for universities, state historic preservation offices, tribes, and youth corps.
The sources told the outlet that similar lists of grant cancellations are being created in other parts of the Interior Department. This is part of DOGE’s attempt to debloat the federal government by canceling funding from areas deemed unnecessary.
The grant list included canceling a $67,000 climate resiliency study on lands surrounding the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and a $223,000 study of the impact of climate change on Alaska’s glaciers, the New York Times said.
FOSSIL FUELS ACCOUNT FOR ONE-THIRD OF METHANE EMISSIONS: The International Energy Agency said the fossil fuel sector accounts for 35% of methane emissions from human activities this year.
The IEA released its annual Global Methane Tracker, which said that, due to limited mitigation, the oil, gas, and coal industries have emitted above 120 million tonnes this year.
The report said that abandoned facilities are a significant source of methane emissions. It estimated there are about 8 million abandoned onshore oil and gas wells and a large number of abandoned coal mines. Wells that have not been decommissioned or vented properly continue to release methane emissions.
IEA estimated that abandoned coal mines emitted about 5 million tonnes of methane and coal and gas wells emitted over 3 million tonnes last year.
Upgrading equipment and advanced technologies can prevent about 70% of methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector, the report finds.
SPAIN WON’T BACK DOWN ON RENEWABLES IN WAKE OF BLACKOUT: As critics have blamed renewables for the sweeping blackout that hit the Iberian Peninsula early last week, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has no intention of changing Spain’s plans for its energy mix.
The details: Sánchez addressed parliament for the first time since the power outage hit Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, and insisted he will not “deviate a single millimeter from the energy road map” toward renewable energy.
“Not only are renewables our country’s energy future, they are our only and best option,” Sánchez said, according to the Financial Times. “They are the only way to reindustrialise Spain.”
Both Spain and Portugal have pursued greener sources of energy like wind and solar while phasing out both fossil fuels and nuclear power in recent years. Many critics have suggested that much of this swift implementation of renewables was done without stabilization systems needed to support rapid changes in energy production, creating a more vulnerable and unstable grid. Others have also pointed out that renewables have lower levels of inertia than more constant power sources like natural gas and nuclear.
Despite this, the government – and utilities – have said they have yet to determine the exact cause of the blackout. Last week, Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica CEO Beatriz Corredor insisted renewables were not to blame.
As Spain is on track to phase out its use of nuclear energy in the coming years, there have been renewed calls to keep several plants online to prevent similar power outages in the future. While the government has expressed interest in utilizing nuclear a little longer, Sánchez has remained firm in the country’s previously made goals.
“There is no empirical evidence to tell us that the incident was caused by a surplus of renewables or a lack of nuclear power plants in Spain,” the prime minister said today.
UNITED KINGDOM GREEN TARGETS SUFFER BLOW AFTER MAJOR WIND FARM AXED: Danish wind developer Ørsted revealed today that it is dropping plans to pursue a major wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire, England, made up of dozens of turbines, putting the United Kingdom’s clean energy targets under threat.
The details: Ørsted canceled plans to build the North Sea windfarm, also known as Hornsea 4, saying it no longer made economic sense. The company had signed a 15-year contract with the U.K. government to sell the roughly 2.4 gigawatts of power generated by the farm – enough energy to power the equivalent of 1 million homes, according to The Guardian. The company pointed to increased supply chain costs, higher interest rates, and increased industry risk as the reasons for the decision.
It is not the first time that Ørsted has slowed or completely halted development for offshore wind projects. The company shelved two large projects off the coast of New Jersey in May of last year. The company also moved to delay the start of another U.S.-based project (off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut) until 2026, after reporting losses.
Trouble for green goals: The U.K.’s government has set lofty goals for clean energy, including having a power grid made of 95% low-carbon energy by 2030. Losing Hornsea 4, the U.K. now has just under 29 gigawatts of clean energy set to be operational by that date as long as no other developer also walks out, according to Bloomberg. Analysts estimate that the country will need to deploy at least 43 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity in order to meet its goals.
Despite the cancellation of Hornsea 4, government officials said they are confident that the U.K. can reach its targets. “Our mission is about more than one project,” U.K. energy minister Ed Miliband said today. “It’s about a route map for the country.”
ICYMI – REPUBLICANS ADVANCE ENERGY PORTION OF RECONCILIATION TAX BILL, WITH A LAST MINUTE ADD-IN: The House Natural Resources Committee advanced the energy portion of Republicans’ reconciliation tax bill early Wednesday morning after a marathon markup, squeezing in one last-minute amendment ordering the sale of thousands of acres of public land.
The details: The position of the bill cleared out of committee in a 26-17 vote with only one Democrat, Rep. Adam Gray of California, voting in favor. More than 120 amendments were introduced with only one making it into the package. The lone addition came from Reps. Mark Amodei and Celeste Maloy and would have the government sell roughly 11,000 acres of public lands in their two states. The amendment indicates that this land could create opportunities for affordable housing.
“The disposal of this land would allow for more responsible development while giving a positive return to the American taxpayer,” Amodei said upon introducing the amendment. “The lands included in this amendment were also identified by their respective counties in Nevada and Utah for disposal.”
Democrats lambasted their Republican colleagues on the committee over the amendment, particularly for introducing it so late in the markup hearing. The heated discussion over the amendment was seemingly the first extended debate that occurred throughout the hourslong hearing, as Republicans remained noticeably quiet throughout the day.
Read more from Callie here.
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