WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! In today’s Daily on Energy, we give you a little insight into Callie’s interview with Energy Secretary Chris Wright. 

The two discussed a range of energy-related issues, including the department’s controversial climate report which was released alongside the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding. 

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Read on to find out what Wright had to say about the report. 

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: This week, the Environmental Protection Agency held four days of hearings over its proposal to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding. Hundreds of private citizens, climate activists, as well as state and local officials provided testimony urging the agency to reverse course on the proposed rescission. However, not everyone is convinced their comments will be heard. 

“While the public comment period is necessary under law, personally, I believe that the decision at EPA has already been made. I hope I am wrong,” New York farmer and self-described Republican Jason Touw said in his testimony. 

“As a farmer, I am firsthand struggling with the changes we are seeing in our weather patterns. More common are the days of air quality alerts for ozone and particulates…this is costing us thousands of dollars in lost revenue,” he said.

SITTING DOWN WITH SECRETARY CHRIS WRIGHT: Callie sat down with Energy Secretary Chris Wright in his office at the Department of Energy’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., for an interview this morning, during which he admitted there were some mistakes made in the agency’s controversial climate change report. 

‘Small mistakes’: One of the most prominent criticisms of the report, which was released in tandem with the EPA’s proposed rollback of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, comes from numerous climate researchers cited in the study. Many have claimed that their own research was misrepresented, or that the report included erroneous data. 

Wright confirmed to Callie this morning that there have been some “small mistakes” found in the study. 

“Look, the authors worked quickly to assemble a great amount of stuff,” Wright said. “Mistakes can be made, of course. And I have seen a few small mistakes identified. Of course, those will be fixed.”

He did not specify what mistakes he saw. 

You can read more from Callie here, and stay tuned this weekend and early next week for more from the interview with Wright. 

COMMERCE LAUNCHES PROBE INTO IMPORTED WIND TURBINES: The Commerce Department launched an investigation into whether wind energy imports harm national security and domestic production, Bloomberg reported. 

According to a notice posted by the agency on Thursday, the department launched an investigation into imported wind parts on Aug. 13. The investigation could spark new tariffs on imported materials. Trump has already placed sweeping tariffs on aluminum, steel, and automobiles. 

The U.S. wind industry imports a lot of its parts from other countries. WoodMackenzie said about 41% come from Mexico, Canada, and China. 

Since day one, Trump has attacked the wind industry, arguing its energy is unreliable and costly. Trump earlier this week said he would stop approving wind and solar projects on farmland, claiming they have increased energy costs. 

For a more in-depth look at Trump’s claims that renewables are to blame for higher electricity prices – take a look at Callie’s story here. 

TREASURY SETS PHASE-OUT DATES FOR EFFICIENCY AND EV TAX CREDITS: The Treasury Department released the phase-out dates for several energy-related tax credits repealed under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

The OBBBA repealed more than $500 billion of IRA clean energy tax credits over the next decade, as well as billions for clean energy programs. That includes eliminating credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new electric vehicle and $4,000 for a used EV. The EV credits are set to expire Sept. 30. 

The department listed out other phase-out dates for credits, including: 

• 25C – Energy efficient home improvement credits will not be allowed for any property placed in service after Dec. 31. 
• 25D – Residential clean energy credit will not be allowed for any expenditures made after Dec. 31. 
• 30C – Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit will not be allowed for any property placed in service after June 30, 2026. 
• 45L – New energy efficient home credit will not be allowed for any qualified new energy efficient home acquired after June 30, 2026. 
• 179D – Energy efficient commercial building deduction will not be allowed with respect to any property the construction of which begins after June 30, 2026. 

Home efficiency policies have been targeted by Trump and Republicans. In Congress, Republicans passed a number of bills to roll back regulations established by the Biden administration that promote home appliance standards. 

SOLAR INDUSTRY LOOKS TO MEET WITH INTERIOR OVER RENEWABLE CRACKDOWN: Major players in the solar energy industry are looking to get some face time with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in order to urge the administration to ease up on its crackdown on solar and wind projects. 

The details: Yesterday, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper sent a letter to the secretary asking to meet with the trade group’s board of directors early next month. 

“It is my hope that we leave rhetoric and politics aside and instead come together to discuss delivering lower-cost energy to American consumers and ensuring that we can win the AI race with China,” she wrote in the letter, first obtained by Politico. 

Hopper pointed to the several actions taken by the Interior Department since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed, accusing the agency of effectively banning new and existing solar projects on both public and private lands. She described these actions as “extremely far-reaching,” and said they apply to nearly 70 individual permitting actions. If Interior fails to reverse course, the trade group warned, it will lead to job losses and higher electricity prices. 

Some background: Over the last two months, Interior has aimed to roll back any agency policies that give preferential treatment to solar and wind energy projects. Simultaneously, the secretary has imposed additional hurdles for renewables, including requiring all relevant wind and solar projects to get approval directly from his office. Burgum has also ordered Interior to consider “capacity density” of projects relative to other energy sources before issuing land permits, a policy which is expected to favor sources like nuclear, gas, and coal, which often have a smaller physical footprint than wind and solar. 

WHO ISSUES GUIDANCE TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM EXTREME HEAT: The World Health Organization, along with the World Meteorological Organization, issued a new report with guidance for governments and employers on how to mitigate the harms for those working in extreme heat. 

Workers in sectors like agriculture, construction, and fisheries have been battling rising temperatures due to the effects of climate change, WHO said. It added that working in extreme heat can lead to health risks like heatstrokes, dehydration, kidney dysfunction, and more. 

“Occupational heat stress has become a global societal challenge, which is no longer confined to countries located close to equator – as highlighted by the recent heatwave in Europe,” WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said in a press release. 

The report found that, for every 20 degrees Celsius, worker productivity drops by 2 to 3%. The WHO and WMO provided some guidance for governments, employers, and health authorities to consider, including developing targeted heat-health policies based on local weather and workforce vulnerabilities. 

The report added that there should be a focus on vulnerable groups like middle-aged and older workers or those with health conditions. Health professionals and authorities should also be educated and aware of heat stress symptoms. They recommended officials to work with stakeholders and trade unions on heat-health strategies. 

WHO and WMO said the solutions should not only be effective but practical while using new technologies. It added that there should be support for research and monitoring to ensure measures remain effective. 

ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ ORDERED TO SHUT DOWN: A federal judge yesterday evening ordered Florida’s immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” to close within 60 days, citing failures to consider environmental impacts. 

Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Federal District Court in Miami said the government violated federal law by failing to consider environmental impacts before starting construction. 

Florida converted the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center, which is located in the state’s Everglades, which is home to a number of endangered species. 

“The project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area,” the judge wrote.

Read more by Washington Examiner’s Ross O’Keefe here. 

ICYMI – UKRAINIAN MAN ARRESTED OVER NORD STREAM PIPELINE EXPLOSION: Yesterday, German officials arrested a Ukrainian man in Italy over his alleged connection to the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions nearly three years ago. 

The details: The man arrested has been identified as Serhii K and is believed to be a part of a Ukrainian group that planted explosives under the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in Swedish and Danish waters. 

German officials said yesterday the man is thought to be one of the “coordinators” of the attack. They added that they believe the group sailed from Rostock on the northeastern coast of Germany to carry out the operation. 

There has long been speculation as to who was responsible for the September 2022 attack, with most fingers pointed at Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have denied culpability. However, in 2023, reports revealed that the CIA had uncovered a Ukrainian plan to blow up the pipelines three months before the attack occurred. 

There has been no determination if a country or entity backed the attack, and various investigations (notably from Swedish and Danish officials) into the incident have been abandoned. 

Quick reminder: Nord Stream 1 was operational between 2011 and 2022, with gas flow having been halted by energy company Gazprom due to Western sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 was finished in 2021 but has never been operational. 

Read more from the Examiner’s Emily Hallas here. 

RUNDOWN 

The Washington Post Erin joined a long list of recent Category 5s. Are they happening more often?

Associated Press China races to build world’s largest solar farm to meet emissions targets

E&E News Floodwater engulfed a hospital. Then came the megalaw.