WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! Areas in the east coast from Washington D.C. to New York are expected to see excessive amounts of rainfall today. A severe thunderstorm watch was issued this afternoon for areas like Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware, and Southeast New York until later this evening. Stay safe out there if you are in an area that could see heavy rainfall.
In today’s newsletter, read more about the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to continue to deregulatory standards meant to reduce emissions from the fossil fuel industry.
Recommended Stories
- Daily on Energy: Trump tightens screws on Russian oil, nuclear fusion plant underway, and tsunami updates
- Daily on Energy: Endangerment Finding rollback day, Duffy versus Buttigieg, and Trump wants North Sea drilling
- Daily on Energy: Trump bashes wind in Scotland, pro-drilling measures for Alaska, and this week’s events
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.
EPA DELAYS METHANE EMISSION RULE FOR OIL AND GAS: The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed the implementation of a Biden rule that aims to reduce methane emission from oil and gas producers.
The implementation delay, first reported by The Hill, comes as the agency is seeking to roll back the rule as part of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s sweeping deregulatory agenda. The rule, which was finalized in 2023, requires oil and natural gas operators to use technology to limit methane leaks and reduce burning large amounts of gas produced by wells.
EPA is now granting oil and gas operators 18 months to install the required pollution controls.
“EPA is providing more realistic timelines for owners and operators of new and modified oil and natural gas sources across the country,” the agency said. “In addition, the agency is giving states additional time to submit plans under the 2024 Emissions Guidelines to limit methane emissions from hundreds of thousands of existing oil and natural gas sources across the country.”
The delayed implementation comes just a day before the EPA announced a proposal to overhaul the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which declares that greenhouse gas emissions produced by cars and trucks pose a threat to public health and welfare.
Read more by Maydeen here.
SCOTLAND APPROVES WORLD’S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM: The Berwick Bank project, which is set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, has received the approval from the Scottish government.
The project is set to be placed 23 miles off the east coast in the North Sea. SSE Renewables, who will develop the project, said it would “deliver up to 4.1 GW of installed capacity, making it one of the largest offshore opportunities in the world.”
SSE Renewables said the project will be capable of producing enough energy to power over six million homes, which is twice the household in Scotland.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the project’s consent has been given “extremely careful consideration,” the BBC reports.
“The decision to grant consent to Berwick Bank is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy,” Forbes said.
The project’s approval comes just days after Trump visited Scotland where he continued his attack on wind energy. He said, “You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds, and if they’re stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans. Stop the windmills.”
SCIENTISTS CITED IN NEW CLIMATE REPORT CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION MISCHARACTERIZED RESEARCH: The Department of Energy released a report on climate change earlier this week as part of its effort to support the EPA’s proposed rescission of 2009 Endangerment Finding. Though the agency is now facing one big problem, many of the scientists cited in the report are challenging the way their own research was used.
The details: At least 10 scientists cited throughout the report spoke to NOTUS, claiming their research was misused or characterized entirely. One researcher, Sukyoung Lee with Pennsylvania State University, claimed her work was taken out of context. Another told the outlet that the report included “erroneous” data, while others said certain charts and texts included were “misleading.”
NOTUS reported that it found at least three citations within the report that included incorrect authors. Another citation was found to have a broken link, making it difficult to verify the research linked. And a fifth was reportedly found to have a link directing readers to an entirely different study.
Key quote: “This is not how science is supposed to work,” Gernot Wagner, a climate economist with Columbia University, told NOTUS. “This is not the sort of process where scientists write the report that gets vetted and peer-reviewed and cited, and then eventually there is a government process, an interagency working group, and then that gets scrutinized, and there’s a formal peer review process.”
Quick reminder: The study, published Tuesday, was authored by five independent scientists selected by Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Several of these authors are widely considered to be climate skeptics or contrarians. The report is now open for a 30-day public comment period. Its findings broadly downplay the effects of climate change on extreme weather, as well as the efficacy of mitigation related policies and actions.
WALL ST. BLASTED FOR LEAVING CLIMATE ALLIANCE: British multinational bank Standard Chartered is hitting its Wall St. counterparts for pulling out of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance earlier this year.
The details: CEO Bill Winters issued a sharp rebuke at the banks after releasing StanChart’s second-quarter earnings earlier today.
“Shame on them,” he said during a call with members of the press, according to Bloomberg.
Winters affirmed StanChart’s commitments to its climate goals, including transitioning towards lower-carbon intensive operations and ultimately reaching net-zero. He said this is driven by the bank’s clients who have also stood by their green commitments.
“That obviously is good for our business,” he said.
Some background: Late last year, a wave of U.S.-based banks left the international alliance. This included Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America. Not long after, a number of Canadian banks also exited the alliance.’ As recently as earlier this month, British bank HSBC said it also exited the multinational group.
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance was first launched in April 2021 with the aim of bringing together global banks and institutions to set climate targets that align with the Paris Agreement. In an attempt to prevent other banks from leaving, the group voted to loosen its climate targets and rules in April.
TRUMP NOMINATES NEW NUCLEAR FEDERAL REGULATOR: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shakeup continues as President Donald Trump has nominated a new member to the independent agency.
The details: Yesterday afternoon, the White House sent a list of nominations to the Senate to fill a number of key administrative positions. This included Ho Nieh to serve on the NRC with a term expiring in June 2029.
Nieh has spent his entire career within the nuclear energy industry, starting as a design engineer with Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in the early 1990s, according to his Linkedin Page. He later went on to work at the NRC for 11 years through the Clinton and second Bush administrations. After a short stint with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Nieh returned to the NRC under former President Barack Obama. More recently, Nieg has served the last four years as vice president of regulatory affairs with Southern Nuclear.
Given his experience within the industry and the commission, his nomination is expected to face little pushback in Congress.
Some reaction: The decision has already received some praise from advocacy groups including the Nuclear Innovation Alliance which congratulated Nieh in a post to social media.
“Mr. Nieh has extensive NRC and industry experience. Looking ahead, a full set of commissioners leading an independent, credible, and technically capable NRC will be essential for new nuclear energy commercialization,” the think-tank wrote.
FORD TO ANNOUNCE A ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ ELECTRIC VEHICLE: Ford CEO Jim Farley teased that the car company is planning to reveal a new electric vehicle and strategy next month to compete with China.
“On Aug. 11, that will be a big day for all of us at Ford,” Farley told investors yesterday, according to Car and Driver News.
“We will be in Kentucky to share more about our plans to design and build a breakthrough electric vehicle and a platform in the U.S. This is a Model-T moment for us at Ford. A chance to bring a new family of vehicles to the world that offer incredible technology, efficiency, space, and features,” he added.
The U.S. market has fallen behind in the EV race with China as the Trump administration has slashed incentives, policies, and regulation that help to boost the industry. China’s EV companies remain ahead as they have released more affordable and updated cars.
ICYMI – ANOTHER HIT ON OFFSHORE WIND BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: The Trump administration isn’t giving any breaks to the offshore wind industry this week, as the Department of Interior moved to rescind all designated wind energy areas on the U.S. outer continental shelf.
These areas have allowed the federal government to hold offshore wind lease auctions, particularly in the Gulf, off the coast of New England, as well as along the coastline of California and Oregon.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced yesterday that it was rescinding all previously designated areas for offshore wind, building on Secretary Doug Burgum’s order issued this week that aimed to end preferential treatment for wind and solar power.
“By rescinding WEAs, BOEM is ending the federal practice of designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development, and is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic,” the agency said in a statement.
RUNDOWN
The Washington Post The U.S. invented these technologies. Then China dominated them.
Canary Media We know how to decarbonize energy. The food sector should take notes.
Public Domain The Oil Industry Wrote a Wishlist. Trump’s Interior Department Is Delivering.