WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The Trump administration’s push to cut off Moscow’s energy export revenue continues, as the president is now turning his attention to Turkey’s purchases of crude from Russia. 

In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we take a closer look at the president’s remarks in the Oval Office today as well as India’s push to replace Russian imports with oil from Iran. 

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Plus, we dive into the ongoing drama around the administration’s decision to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding and why Tesla is speaking out against the proposal. 

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.

TRUMP SETS SIGHTS ON TURKEY OVER RUSSIAN OIL IMPORTS: President Donald Trump is escalating his call for nations to halt their purchases of Russian oil as a way to end the war in Ukraine, turning his attention this morning to Turkey. 

The details: The president hosted Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House today, where Trump directly urged him to end Russian energy imports. 

“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,” Trump said. “And they’ve been fighting. They’ve lost millions of lives already, and for what? You know, for what? Disgraceful.”

The president went on to say that he believed Erdogan could have a “big influence” on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine by ending purchases of oil and gas. In January of this year, Turkey was estimated to have purchased 25% of Russia’s crude product exports, followed by China and Brazil at 11% each. 

Read more from the Examiner’s Mabinty Quarshie here. 

PLUS…INDIA LOOKS TO IRAN TO STOP PURCHASES OF RUSSIAN OIL: Trump’s attention to Turkey comes weeks after the administration escalated its pressure on India to also end its imports of Russian oil and gas. 

A person with knowledge of the discussions confirmed to Bloomberg that an Indian delegation in Washington this week is now asking U.S. officials to allow for crude purchases from Iran and Venezuela to fill the gap caused if India ends all Russian imports. Oil producers in both Iran and Venezuela have been subject to U.S. sanctions for months.

India has not purchased Iranian crude since 2019 and also ended imports of Venezuelan oil earlier this year. The country is reportedly warning U.S. officials that cutting off purchases from Iran, Venezuela, and Russia would send global prices soaring. 

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT SUED BY INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS: While the Trump administration has touted itself as one of the most transparent administrations ever, an independent news desk is calling that into question via a lawsuit against the Interior Department. 

The details: Public Domain, which primarily covers environmental news, filed a suit against the agency this week over a failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests in a timely manner. 

The suit is meant to force Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the agency as a whole, and the Bureau of Land Management to conduct “reasonable searches, issue determinations, and produce records in response to FOIA requests seeking work calendars for political appointees.” 

“We want to know who they have been meeting with, how they have spent their days on the taxpayers dime, and what they are cooking up for the future,” investigative reporter Jimmy Tobias wrote in a blog post. 

Thursday’s suit is expected to be one of several Public Domain plans to file against the Interior Department. 

MAJOR URANIUM ENRICHMENT COMPANY ANNOUNCES EXPANSION: Centrus Energy is announcing a major expansion of its uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, reducing reliance on foreign fuel for nuclear reactors. 

The details: The expansion of the facility is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent operations jobs. Centrus Energy is the only U.S.-owned company with the capabilities to produce High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium, better known as HALEU, which is required for most advanced reactors – particularly those smaller in size.  

Expanding the Piketon site is said to boost its production levels of HALEU, which could prove crucial for the number of advanced nuclear projects set to begin construction within the next five years. One of the largest hurdles many of these projects currently face is sourcing enough fuel to run their advanced reactors – such as small modular reactors. The Trump administration is looking to bring that supply chain to the U.S., as Russia currently dominates global production.  

Notable quote: “The time has come to restore America’s ability to enrich uranium at scale,” Centrus CEO Amir Vexler said in a statement.  “We are planning a historic, multi-billion-dollar investment right here in Ohio – supported by a nationwide supply chain to do just that. When it comes to powering our energy future, it’s time to stop relying on foreign, state-owned corporations and start investing in American technology, built by American workers.”

FEDERAL JUDGE HELPS CLEAR PATH FOR NEW YORK NUCLEAR PLANT RESTART: It just got a whole lot easier for the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant to potentially come back online. 

Some background: A federal judge in New York this week ruled against state law aimed at limiting potential radioactive contamination of the Hudson River, according to Reuters. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed last year by Holtec International, which is in charge of decommissioning the nuclear plant. 

Holtec has since indicated that it is considering restarting the facility which shuttered in 2021. Doing so would make Indian Point the second nuclear plant that Holtec has brought back online, after the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan which is on track to restart later this year. 

The ruling: In yesterday’s decision, the judge ruled the 2023 law was preempted by federal law and restricted Holtec’s ability to make decisions on how to dispose of any radioactive materials associated with the decommissioning.

“By requiring Holtec to change the method by which it disposes of tritiated water,” the judge wrote in his decision, according to Reuters, adding, “the statute directly and substantially affects decisions concerning radiological safety levels.”

TESLA ASKS ADMINISTRATION TO NOT RESCIND THE ENDANGERMENT FINDING: Tesla is calling on the Trump administration to not rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, stating that the finding is “lawful” and “based on a robust factual and scientific record.” 

Tesla’s comments were submitted during the Environmental Protection Agency’s written comment period on its proposal to revoke the Endangerment Finding. The finding is a determination that identifies greenhouse gas emissions as a threat to public health and welfare. 

The electric vehicle company wrote that the EPA’s proposals “give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including for model years manufactured prior to this Proposal. The Proposal would have a highly disruptive and unlawful retroactive result.” 

Tesla’s comments come as the Trump administration has also repealed policies and incentives that help electric vehicles. 

The company also asked the EPA not to repeal vehicle emissions standards, which they said are a “lawful exercise of authority Congress provided to EPA to regulate greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles.” 

The comment period ended on Monday at midnight. The EPA received over 140,000 comments. 

DOE TO RETURN $13BN IN CLEAN ENERGY FUNDS: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the department would seek to return more than $13 billion in clean energy funds. 

Wright made the announcement at a press briefing in New York. The unclaimed funds are from the Inflation Reduction Act and were earmarked to subsidize wind, solar, batteries, and electric vehicles, Wright said. The department has not provided any further details regarding which fund would be returned. 

As a reminder: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by Trump in July, slashed hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives for renewable energy. It also rescinded unclaimed funds for several clean energy programs. 

ICYMI – XCEL ENERGY TO PAY MILLIONS TO SETTLE WILDFIRE LAWSUIT: Xcel Energy, an electricity utility and natural gas company, has settled a lawsuit claiming it was responsible for a wildfire in Colorado in 2021, the Associated Press reported. 

The company said yesterday that it expects to pay $640 million to settle a lawsuit brought by hundreds of homeowners, insurers and others over the cause of the wildfire. The wildfire in 2021 engulfed areas between Denver and Boulder, where it destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed two people. 

The company said it does not admit to any fault under the settlement. Jury selection for the trial was set to begin today, with the trial expecting to last for two months. 

Some of the most destructive wildfires in western states have been linked to power companies’ aging equipment, as with the Camp Fire in 2018 in California. 

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