WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and Monday, readers! President Donald Trump is heading to the United Kingdom this week, where he is poised to sign a new nuclear energy agreement with British leaders. We take a closer look at what the agreement may entail.
Meanwhile, Daily on Energy takes a look at an email exchange between the offices of Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and chairman Mike Lee of Utah after the New Mexico senator accused the Utah senator of failing to consult on last week’s committee markup agenda.
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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 TO INK NUCLEAR ENERGY DEAL WITH UNITED KINGDOM: President Donald Trump is poised to sign a new nuclear energy agreement with British leaders during his visit to the U.K. this week.
The details: The agreement aims to “turbocharge” the build out of nuclear energy in both the U.S. and U.K. to meet growing energy demand brought on by artificial intelligence. The agreement is expected to be made up of a number of commercial deals between U.S. and British companies, including X-Energy and Centrica. Through this deal alone, the two companies plan to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in North East England, with an ultimate goal to build out 6 gigawatts of power.
One deal between Last Energy and DP World intends to build one of the first micro modular nuclear power plants in the world. Another between Holtec International, EDF, and Tritax plans to develop advanced data centers powered by small modular reactors at a former coal power facility in Nottinghamshire.
“These major commitments set us well on course to a golden age of nuclear that will drive down household bills in the long run, while delivering thousands of good jobs in the short term,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. “Together with the US, we’re building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment.”
Under the broad agreement, U.K. and U.S. officials are looking to accelerate the approval process for advanced reactor designs, meaning if one design has already been approved in one country its work and application can be used to support its assessment in the other. Officials hope to accelerate approvals for advanced reactors to around 24 months.
Read more from the Examiner’s Christian Datoc, who is in London, here.
TENSION OVER BIPARTISANSHIP IN SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE: Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich of New Mexico has accused chairman Mike Lee of Utah of failing to consult with his staff on the committee’s markup agenda, but emails obtained by Daily on Energy show that members of both senators’ staff indeed communicated with each other ahead of the meeting.
The accusation: During last week’s markup hearing to consider nominees for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and several bills, Heinrich called out Lee for not consulting with Democratic committee members on their bipartisan bills.
“This agenda was not the result of collaboration or even consultation between the majority and minority, as has been the long-standing practice on this committee,” Heinrich said. “The agenda was dictated by the chairman alone with no consultation on what the priorities of the minority are and where common ground might be found.”
What was said: An email thread reviewed by Maydeen shows that Heinrich’s staff was consulted regarding the markup agenda from last week, with staffers exchanging emails starting on September 3.
In the exchange, Heinrich’s staff asked for his bill – The Continental Divide Trail Completion Act – to be included in the recent markup hearing. The CDT bill would direct the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to prioritize the completion of the trail by 2028.
If the chairman fails to do so, the ranking member’s staff said the New Mexico senator will request a roll-call vote on the Lee’s University of Utah Research Park Act and plans to vote against it.
“I got a chance to talk to my boss about this agenda; if the CDT bill isn’t included, he does plan to ask for a roll call vote on S. 1453 and plans to vote no,” Heinrich’s staff said in an email.
Lee’s staff did not include Heinrich’s bill in the recent markup and did not ask whether the minority had any bills to add.
“We are happy to consider other bills at another markup. As we discussed, we plan on having numerous digestible markups where members are able to meaningfully engage on the legislation, in contrast to markups of the past,” Lee’s staff wrote in the email.
ENERGY BILLS HEADED TO THE HOUSE FLOOR THIS WEEK: The House of Representatives is poised to vote this week on three bills aimed at boosting the reliability and stability of the national grid, while also propping up the production, import, and export of fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas.
Fast tracking interconnection: One of the bills up for a vote is the Guaranteeing Reliability through the Interconnection of Dispatchable, or GRID, Power Act, which would favor certain energy projects to skip the lengthy interconnection queue and start pumping power into the national grid.
The bill, introduced by Ohio Republican Troy Balderson, seeks to expedite the interconnection process for “dispatchable” power plants. The bill, if passed, would allow power plants using energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear to skip ahead of the traditional interconnection queue if they are able to improve grid reliability and grid resilience.
It would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule prioritizing these projects, fast-tracking their construction and connection to the grid within one year,
The other bills: Also up for a vote this week is the Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Act, which aims to simplify approvals for natural gas and oil pipelines and electric grid connections with Canada and Mexico.
Additionally, the House is poised to vote on reauthorizing the National Coal Council, an advisory committee within the Energy Department. The committee, which was established under former President Ronald Reagan, lapsed under the Biden administration in 2021 but was reinstated by Energy Secretary Chris Wright in April.
Read more from Callie here.
MIKE POMPEO’S PUSH FOR CRITICAL MINERALS: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is urging the Trump administration to accelerate its push for critical minerals.
The details: Pompeo, who currently sits on the board and is an advisor for two critical mineral and rare earth focused firms, insisted that shortages within the U.S. could pose a national security risk given China’s dominance over the supply chain.
“The Chinese Communist party is watching this, and they can see America’s focus on this, is something they will have to counter,” Pompeo said to the Financial Times. “Collectively we have to get this right, to do everything we can.”
Pompeo called for the government to partner with allies like Canada, South Korea and Japan to weaken China’s stronghold over the industry.
CALIFORNIA PASSES MAJOR CLIMATE PACKAGE: Over the weekend, California lawmakers passed an extensive climate and energy package that included an extension of the state’s cap-and-trade program, expanding wildfire funding and approving new oil drilling.
State lawmakers’ climate and energy package extends its cap-and-trade program, which was set to expire in 2030, through 2045. The program was rebranded by California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the “cap-and-invest” program. It aims to hold polluters accountable by placing limits on emission and charging companies for emitting over the limit. The package expands the state’s wildfire fund for utilities, who may face wildfire claims and insurance costs.
It also approved new drilling in Kern County after refiners threatened to shut down plants. The package would streamline environmental permitting for new oil wells in effort to boost oil production in the region which has declined in recent years.
The package now heads to Newsom’s desk for a signature.
RAM ENDS ITS ELECTRIC PICKUP TRUCK: Ram is ending its all-electric pickup truck as a result of slow demand for EVs trucks.
Stellantis, the parent company of Ram, said in a statement on Friday that it would stop manufacturing the Ram 1500 pickup truck.
“As demand for full-size battery-electric trucks slows in North America, Stellantis is reassessing its product strategy and will discontinue development of a full-size BEV pickup,” the company said in a news release. “Ram is improving market competitiveness and growth while maintaining pricing power through products, services and electrified offerings.”
The auto company will now rename its extended range electric pickup “Ramcharger” to the “Ram 1500 REV.”
Many U.S. auto manufacturers have been adjusting their plans to manufacturing EVs because of the Trump administration’s moves to roll back policies and incentives that favor electric cars. This varies depending on the company as some are continuing to manufacture new EVs.
Reaction: Joel Levin, executive director at Plug-In America, said, “I am disappointed whenever I hear about an American automaker scaling back its investments in electric vehicles. China is so far ahead of us in terms of producing high-quality EVs at low prices and exporting them around the world that it would shock most Americans.”
“It’s not clear how we continue to be global automotive leaders by producing vehicles that will only sell in one country. Having said that, I am excited about the upcoming plug-in hybrid RAM 1500 REV. I think it will be an important addition to the selection of electrified pick-up trucks,” he added.
CHINA CALLS U.S. “BULLY” OVER PUSH FOR RUSSIAN IMPORT TARIFFS: As Trump has called on European allies to impose new tariffs on China over its continued imports of Russian energy products, Beijing has dubbed the U.S. a “bully.”
The details: Chinese officials came out today against the president’s call on NATO and the Group of Seven to impose secondary tariffs in order to cut Russia’s revenue in its energy sector. The country’s commerce ministry reportedly described the proposal as “a classic example of unilateral bullying and economic coercion,” according to Reuters.
Quick reminder: Trump issued the call for tariffs on Saturday, claiming it would “be of great help” in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. The president claimed that if NATO agreed to his terms to place 50% to 100% tariffs on China, the war would end quickly. Trump imposed similar tariffs on India earlier this summer over its purchases of Russian oil.
“If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States,” he said in a letter posted on social media.
ICYMI – APPEALS COURT PAUSES CHALLENGES AGAINST SEC CLIMATE RULES: A federal appeals court paused its consideration of legal challenges against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rules.
During the Biden administration, the SEC finalized climate disclosure rules, requiring certain publicly traded companies to disclose their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.
The rule was quickly met with litigation from Republican-led states and industry groups, who claimed the SEC did not have statutory authority to implement a rule on climate. The lawsuits were consolidated in the Eighth Circuit and the rule’s effective date was paused until pending litigation was completed. Earlier this year Trump SEC, however, voted to stop defending the rule in court.
Reuters reported that the Eighth Circuit said on Friday that since the SEC said it would stop defending the rule and has not announced whether it would modify or repeal the rule, the legal challenges “will be held in abeyance to promote judicial economy.”
A LOOK AHEAD
Sept. 15 The House Committee on Rules is holding a legislative hearing on a number of bills, including the GRID Power Act and the National Coal Council Reestablishment Act.
Sept. 15 – 19 The 9th National Clean Energy Week is held in Washington D.C.
Sept. 16 The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy is holding a hearing titled “Appliance and Building Policies: Restoring the American Dream of Home Ownership and Consumer Choice.”
Sept. 16 The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing on permitting reform under the Clean Air Act.
Sept. 16 The House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency is holding a hearing titled “Playing God with the Weather – A Disastrous Forecast.”
Sept. 17 The Senate Environment and Public Works committee is holding a hearing to consider the nomination of Jeffrey Hall to serve as the assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sept. 17 The House Natural Resources committee is holding a legislative hearing considering a number of bills regarding mining and mineral resources.
Sept. 17 Group of Thirty is releasing its latest report on Carbon Pricing and Markets.
Sept. 17 The Clean Air Task Force is hosting a webinar on geothermal energy.
Sept. 18 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is holding its monthly open meeting, the first with commissioner David Rosner as chairman.
Sept. 19 The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable will be held in Boston, Massachusetts.
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