WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers!
In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, Callie and Maydeen take a look at today’s arguments in the Supreme Court regarding the National Environmental Policy Act, the bedrock environmental law requiring agencies to study the effects of projects requiring federal permits.
We cover some news from the electric vehicle market, including a new survey showing that the prices for EV battery packs dropped to the lowest amount in seven years. In addition, Texas-based Tesla is reportedly poised to launch a vehicle priced below $30,000 by early 2025.
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.
SUPREME COURT APPEARS POISED TO CURB REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS: Following arguments today, the Supreme Court appears poised to narrow the scope of law requiring research on “environmental impacts” before starting large development projects.
The case: Since 1970, the National Environmental Policy Act has required agencies to study the environmental impacts of projects requiring federal permits. The decades-old law is at the center of a case before the court involving an 88-mile rail line in Utah, designed to transport crude oil to Gulf Coast refineries. Environmentalists and local governments have argued that regulators failed to assess the broader environmental consequences of the project, including Gulf Coast air pollution and risks of rail accidents along the route.
Where the court stands: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit previously sided with these challengers, requiring the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to evaluate the project’s “upstream and downstream” effects on the environment. However, the justices signaled skepticism toward such an expansive interpretation. In fact, most if not all appeared hesitant to uphold the status quo for NEPA and appeared open to embracing a new and narrower set of standards under the law, though how exactly they would rule remains to be seen.
Several justices, including Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Amy Coney Barrett “questioned whether this test was too narrow given the purposes of NEPA and too hard to implement,” Michael Drysdale of Dorsey & Whitney told the Washington Examiner after oral arguments.
Coleman said the justices appeared focused on finding a way to write a “decision that would establish general rules describing the kinds of effects that are too remote for agencies to require consideration of them.”
Read more from the Examiner’s Kaelan Deese here.
TRUMP PLEDGES TO END REVIEWS OF MAJOR PROJECTS: Today, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to remove lengthy federal review processes for private and public investments – such as environmental impact reviews required through NEPA.
The details: The incoming president took to Truth Social on Tuesday in an effort to encourage investments in the American economy, by promising a way for companies to avoid vital reviews.
“Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals,” Trump wrote. “GET READY TO ROCK!!!”
Critics of the law claim NEPA leads to slowed domestic infrastructure development, increased costs, and extensive litigation. Meanwhile, supporters of NEPA claim it is critical to avoiding endangering the public lands and wildlife and that it saves taxpayers billions of dollars.
TOYOTA STILL TO EXPAND MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR EV BATTERY PLANT: Japanese manufacturer Toyota has vowed to still expand its $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina – one of the largest foreign electric vehicle commitments in the U.S. – despite Trump’s promises to slam the brakes on the industry.
The details: Toyota first made the promise to expand its Greensboro, North Carolina, EV battery facility in 2023, with production poised to begin in early 2025. While Trump is expected to walk back subsidies for EVs and vowed to end the so-called “EV mandate,” the company has no plans to veer off course.
Executives with Toyota confirmed to the Financial Times that the company is following through, with president of Toyota battery manufacturing North Carolina Sean Suggs saying the company may even expand the facility more in the coming years.
The facility is currently poised to have 14 production lines, employing more than 5,000 workers once fully expanded. Production for hybrid vehicle batteries will begin in early 2025, with production for EV batteries slated to start by the end of next year. The facility is expected to support Toyota’s larger goal of launching up to seven EV models within the country in 2025 and 2026, according to the Financial Times.
Unwavering confidence: With federal subsidies and support for EVs over in the short term up in the air, Japan largely remains confident in its current investments in the U.S. industry. In North Carolina alone, over 200 Japanese businesses have around 30,000 individuals employed. Fujifilm announced plans earlier this year to continue similar investments, and others are staying the course as well.
“We have a number of factories under construction and, considering the costs involved with changing locations and reviewing supply chains, it is difficult to imagine halting investments,” an executive at an unidentified major Japanese energy company told the outlet.
EV BATTERY PRICES DROP THE FASTEST IN SEVEN YEARS: A BloombergNEF survey found that lithium-ion battery packs average price this year was $115 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), marking a 20% drop year-on-year, the largest since 2017.
The price drop is attributed to overcapacity in cell manufacturing, low metal and component prices, and the shift to using lower-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries. The survey said pack prices could decrease by $3 per kWh in 2025.
“Battery manufacturers have aggressively expanded production capacity in anticipation of surging demand, but EV sales, one of the biggest demand drivers for batteries, have grown at slower pace than some expected. This year we recorded the lowest pack price to date, at $45/kWh, in China for an energy storage system,” the report said.
Bloomberg said the price decline signals that average battery prices for EVs could soon reach price parity with internal combustion engines.
“EVs are still significantly more expensive than comparable combustion cars in many markets,” it reads. “We expect more segments to reach price parity, as lower-cost batteries become more widely available outside of China.”
ICYMI: TESLA TO LAUNCH EV COSTING LESS THAN $30,000: Texas-based Tesla is reportedly poised to put an EV priced below $30,000 on the market in early 2025.
The details: A Deutsche Bank investor report reviewed by InsideEVs reportedly claims the affordable new model will launch in the first half of next year and would cost less than $30,000 if current EV tax credits remain in place. If the subsidies are pulled, as expected in the incoming Trump administration, the vehicle would likely cost around $37,499.
Tesla has yet to confirm the launch. However, Deutsche Bank reported they learned of the new model from Tesla’s investor relations head Travis Axelrod. The new vehicle has only been referred to as “Model Q,” and is expected to be manufactured on existing lines.
The company reportedly told Deutsche Bank that it plans to launch multiple “models” that Tesla expects to increase company volumes by around 20-30% through the next year. With Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 vehicles priced above $44,000, it remains unclear how the company will cut costs. It could use a smaller battery or vehicle size to lower the price.
UK ELECTRICITY PRICES JUMP AFTER LACK OF WIND: Electricity prices in the United Kingdom have jumped to their highest levels in nearly two years, as the country has seen a swift decline in wind levels – decreasing energy output from the renewable source.
The details: As of Tuesday, prices were around £175.05 (approximately $223.41) per megawatt-hour for delivery, the highest since 2023, according to Bloomberg. In recent months, the UK and several other nations across Europe have seen a series of windless weeks. That is expected to continue in the coming days, with output from wind turbines reportedly projected to fall below 2 gigawatts on Thursday. By comparison, wind energy output was just over 8 gigawatts today, Bloomberg reported.
The impact: Similarly, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany have seen their electricity prices dramatically increase due to lack of wind. Without wind, energy output from turbines drops and these nations are forced to fill the gap with more expensive sources of energy, such as fossil fuels. With temperatures dropping across Europe, German officials have warned this could result in gas stockpiles being depleted.
In mid-November, Bloomberg estimated the average storage levels for gas reserves in the European Union could drop to around 20% in February. At the time, levels were around 92%.
AIRLINES NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO REACH SUSTAINABLE FUEL TARGETS: Willie Walsh, the head of airline trade body IATA, said the airline industry is not moving quickly enough on using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reach its 2050 net zero emission goal, Reuters reports.
At an IATA media day in Geneva, Walsh said, “We’re not making as much progress as we’d hoped for and we’re certainly not making as much progress as we need.”
IATA released a new study that found that sustainable aviation fuel production volume reached 1 million tonnes, or 1.3 billion liters, in 2024 which is double the amount from last year.
However, the production volume is below what IATA initially projected for this year, at 1.5 million tonnes or 1.9 billion liters.
“SAF volumes are increasing, but disappointingly slowly,” Walsh said in the report. “Governments are sending mixed signals to oil companies which continue to receive subsidies for their exploration and production of fossil oil and gas. And investors in new generation fuel producers seem to be waiting for guarantees of easy money before going full throttle.”
“But make no mistake that airlines are eager to buy SAF and there is money to be made by investors and companies who see the long-term future of decarbonization,” he added.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for SAF, but it is unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will slash them.
RUNDOWN
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