WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! In today’s Daily on Energy, we are taking a closer look at the Trump administration’s recent efforts to block offshore wind projects, as the Interior Department has moved to withdraw approvals for a project in Maryland.
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.
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OFFSHORE WIND FACES ANOTHER HIT FROM TRUMP: The Trump administration continues to tighten its chokehold on the offshore wind industry, as the Interior Department has moved to withdraw federal approvals for a project planned off the coast of Maryland.
The details: Court documents reviewed by the Washington Examiner this week reveal that Interior plans to remand and vacate the construction and operations permit granted to US Wind for the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, also known as MarWin.
The project was approved under the Biden administration last December, and is expected to have a total of 114 turbines. Construction for the project, set to be roughly 10 nautical miles off Ocean City, Maryland, was expected to begin in 2028.
The Trump administration is claiming that past approvals failed to comply with the Coastal Zone Management Act, an allegation US Wind denies. The renewable energy company has insisted it obtained every necessary permit legally.
Some reaction: Clean energy advocates were left reeling on the news, as it comes within the same week that the administration issued a stop work order for the Revolution Wind farm in New England. One energy lobbyist told Callie that the actions lay the groundwork for future Democratic administrations to “chip away at foundation energy policy changes President Trump has delivered.”
Hillary Bright, executive director of Turn Forward, has insisted these actions put “billions of dollars of investments, thousands of good union jobs, and the promise of reliable, affordable power at risk.”
“Communities up and down the East Coast have been counting on these projects for years, and delays now undermine the certainty that workers, businesses, and families need,” Bright said.
Shrinking investments: The renewable energy industry is already shedding investors thanks to the policies implemented by the Trump administration. A report released by BloombergNEF today revealed that investment in renewable projects dropped by $20.5 billion, roughly 36% during the first six months of this year compared to the six months prior. Wind and solar alone saw investment drop by 18%.
UNION LEADER BLASTS WIND CRACKDOWN, CALLS IT ‘DEVASTATING’ FOR HUNDREDS OF UNION WORKERS: The Trump administration’s decision to halt construction on the Revolution Wind project in New England has put at risk the jobs of 1,000 union workers, many of whom feel “betrayed” by the president, a local union leader revealed.
Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley told Callie this afternoon that the stop-work order issued Friday is “potentially devastating” for all the union workers in Rhode Island and Connecticut working on the offshore wind farm that is roughly 80% completed.
Crowley said there are 1,000 union workers involved in the project, including carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, office employees, and even those transporting tradesmen out of the turbines offshore. As of Monday, Crowley said, there were at least 50 workers still located offshore, all of whom were also informed they were out of a job.
“They’re angry…they’re pissed off,” Crowley told Callie. “You know, many of our members in the building trades voted for the Trump team and they’re feeling betrayed…it doesn’t make any sense to them.”
He explained that the tradesmen and women involved in the project will now be forced to look for new assignments. This also increases the risk of more delays if the stop-work order is lifted, as many of the jobs require hundreds of hours of training and are not easily replaceable.
With the stop-work order in place, Crowley said there are concerns over how project developer Ørsted will move forward. The Danish company’s stock took a major dive on Monday and could be at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars, based on losses incurred by another European wind company over a similar stalled project.
“At what point do they make a business decision and just wash their hands of this?” Crowley said.
OFFSHORE WIND INVESTMENT RISK SPREADS EAST: Investors are also beginning to lose confidence in offshore wind projects in Asia, as Mitsubishi is reportedly moving to withdraw from three projects in Japan.
The details: Local reports indicated this morning a group of firms, led by Mitsubishi Corp., were poised to pull out of the three projects four years after they were selected to operate the wind farms. The offshore wind farms were expected to be launched in 2028-2030 in the Akita and Chiba prefectures, with a total capacity of around 1.76 gigawatts, according to Reuters.
Japan is seeking to increase its wind power capacity to around 10 gigawatts by 2030, and further expand it to 45 gigawatts by 2040.
Sources told Reuters that as Mitsubishi pulls back on its investments in the renewable projects, Japanese officials are likely to turn to major foreign players in the wind industry, including utilities based in Spain and Germany.
WHERE OIL STANDS: Oil prices began to fall again today after increasing all last week and hitting a two-week high on Monday as concerns over Russian energy supply also grew.
Russia accused Ukraine of striking one of its nuclear power plants in an overnight drone attack over the weekend, forcing a 50% reduction in operating capacity. The incident sent oil prices to nearly $70 per barrel. As of this afternoon, prices had fallen by more than $1, indicating that concerns over Russia’s energy supply had eased.
As of around 3 p.m. EST, International benchmark Brent Crude was down by $1.54, selling at $67.28 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate had also fallen by $1.51 and was priced at $63.29 per barrel.
RARE EARTH PRICES UP AFTER U.S. CUTS OUTPUT TO CHINA: The price of two rare earths, used for manufacturing magnets, hit the highest level in over two years after the U.S. made a multibillion-dollar investment into the U.S.-based rare earth producer, MP Materials.
Reuters reports that the Chinese price of rare earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) has jumped to $88 per kg from $63 on July 9. It is the highest since March 2023.
As a reminder: The price spike comes after the Department of Defense entered into an agreement with U.S. rare earth producer MP Materials in July to help create a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain. The deal has given the federal government a 15% stake in the company. It also included several commitments that extend for 10 years, including convertible preferred equity, warrants, loans, and a price floor.
Reuters said that, over the past three years, MP Materials supplied about 7% to 9% of the rare earths to China to manufacture magnets. Rare earth magnets are vital for advanced defense technologies as well as electric vehicles and wind turbines. In April, MP Materials stopped shipping rare earths to China due to sweeping tariffs.
Reactions: GreenMet vice president of operations Sabrina Katz told the Washington Examiner via email that “The recent jump in neodymium and praseodymium prices shows just how fragile the rare earth supply chain really is. MP Materials’ decision to stop shipments to China is a clear reminder that the U.S. needs to ramp up domestic production and processing of these critical minerals.”
She added, “This is just the start. Much more is coming as we build toward a stronger, more resilient domestic supply. Growing U.S. rare earth production is not only smart business. It is essential for national security, clean energy, and advanced technologies. The current market shows that with the right focus, we can turn supply challenges into long-term opportunities for the U.S. and its allies.”
RECORD-BREAKING WILDFIRES IN EUROPE: Europe this year experienced record-breaking wildfires, burning more than a million hectares of land, Reuters reports.
The publication said that, as of today, a total of 1,028,000 hectares have burned in the European Union. This year’s wildfires surpassed the previous record in 2017, when wildfires burned nearly 998,000 hectares.
Spain and Portugal have been hit the hardest. The two countries accounted for nearly two-thirds of the EU’s burnt area, Reuters said. Europe also experienced a heatwave earlier this month, which helped fuel these fires. There are 10 wildfires still burning in Spain as of today.
MASSIVE DUST STORM ROLLS THROUGH PHOENIX: A large dust storm rolled through Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday causing losses in power and delaying flights.
A haboob is a type of dust storm that forms a massive wall of dust and debris that causes low visibility. It is formed from the outflow of air from a collapsing thunderstorm. Yesterday’s haboob caused more than 15,000 people to lose power, mainly in Maricopa County, the Associated Press reported.
After the haboob, heavy rain and wind hit the area, which caused flights to be delayed in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Check out these photos and videos of the haboob.
ICYMI – PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS STATUS: The Palisades Nuclear Plant has set another a major milestone in its journey to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear facility in the U.S. to come back online – the plant is no longer in “decommissioning.”
Holtec International said that as of yesterday, the Palisades facility in western Michigan had transitioned from decommissioning status to operations. This will allow the facility to receive nuclear fuel and restart later this year.
“These steps position Palisades squarely in the final phase of restart preparations, as inspections, testing, and maintenance continue under rigorous independent federal oversight,” Holtec said.
What is left: There is still quite a bit of work to be completed before steam will be spotted rising above the plant’s cooling towers. Specifically, employees need to complete repairs to the steam generator, reassemble the main generator and turbine, install a refurbished coolant pump motor, and conduct additional maintenance tests.
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