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WHAT DOES JUSTICE KENNEDY’S RETIREMENT MEAN FOR ENERGY ISSUES? Wednesday’s announcement that Supreme Court Justice Robert Kennedy will retire next month has raised a number of questions about his replacement and what it means for big issues in the future. Here is a look at some of them:

Mass v. EPA? Although some are speculating about a rehearing of the high court’s landmark Massachusetts v. EPA decision that said the agency was required to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, more grounded voices say don’t count on it.

It’s a ‘reach’: “I think that is a reach in the near term,” Myron Ebell, Trump’s former EPA transition chief, told John.

‘Clear ruling’ on clean cars: “More realistic short-term objectives would be to get a clear ruling that defines and limits federal wetlands jurisdiction and a decision that supports [the Department of Transportation’s] pre-emption of the EPA’s California waiver for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles,” said Ebell, who serves as the director for energy and environment at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute think tank.

Endangered species: “Another medium term goal would be to reconsider the limits of the Endangered Species Act,” he said.

Kennedy had joined the conservative majority “in the most disastrous” of the Supreme Court’s Endangered Species Act decisions — Sweet Home v. Babbitt in 1995.

The 6-3 decision gave the Interior Department broad deference in expanding the meaning of “taking” wildlife to include unintentional harm to an endangered species, which Ebell’s group said greatly expanded “the secretary’s power and control over Americans.”

Government ‘overreach’: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who helped lead states in opposing climate regulation, said Kennedy’s “successor should demonstrate a commitment to protecting individual liberty, respecting the democratic process, resisting unlawful government overreach and standing up for the rule of law.”

Critics describe many of President Barack Obama’s EPA regulations as prime examples of federal overreach, overriding states’ jurisdiction or in misapplying the law, such as the Clean Air Act.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, compiled by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] 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.

PERRY ANNOUNCES $1 BILLION FOR ENERGY PROJECTS IN MEXICO: The Energy Department, partnering with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, announced a commitment Thursday morning to support U.S. energy companies investing in Latin America, with a lot of money going to Mexico.

OPIC, the U.S. government’s development finance institution, plans to invest $1 billion in Mexico’s energy sector over the next three years, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and OPIC President and CEO Ray Washburne announced during a press conference at the World Gas Conference in Washington.

‘Unleash economic growth’: In addition, the Energy Department will identify regions and sectors throughout Latin America that present investment opportunities for U.S. energy companies. OPIC will assist those companies by providing financing and also insurance when it is unavailable from the private sector.

“This partnership presents a great opportunity to combine the expertise of DOE and the resources of OPIC to identify and develop projects that will advance North American energy security and unleash economic growth for our Latin American neighbors,” Perry said.

Decision moment: Latin America represents almost a quarter of OPIC’s $23.2 billion in global spending.

The decision to invest in Mexico comes days before the country’s July 1 presidential election, when leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador is expected to win. He has threatened to roll back constitutional reforms from 2013 that opened Mexico’s formerly nationalized energy industry to foreign investment.

PERRY SAYS COST ESTIMATE ON COAL BAILOUT COMING SOON: Perry said Thursday that the Energy Department is working on releasing a cost estimate for its proposed bailout of struggling coal and nuclear plants, but does not know the price of the plan.

“We don’t have a dollar estimate at this point in time,” Perry said in response to a question at the World Gas Conference. “A piece of work is being done hopefully in the not too distant future.”

But Perry reiterated his national security rationale for subsidizing failing coal and nuclear plants, which he says outweighs higher bills for customers.

“It’s not a dollar figure,” Perry said. “You cannot put a dollar figure on the cost to keep America free, to keep the lights on.”

BIG OIL AND GAS INVESTMENTS COMING FROM MIDDLE EAST, HE SAYS: Perry says foreign investment in the U.S. by Mideast energy producers such as Qatar will help meet the president’s goal of energy dominance.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity,” Perry said Thursday morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in the United States, some of it foreign dollars coming into the United States.”

Qatar’s Texas bid: A “prime example” is the Golden Pass project in Texas, where Qatar is partnering with a U.S. company to build a “massive LNG export facility,” Perry noted. The U.S. has become a net export of natural gas, and Qatar wants a part of the U.S. booming market, which will compete with Mideast natural gas exports.

One step behind Russia: Qatar is the world’s second-biggest exporter of natural gas behind Russia.

Perry held talks Wednesday with Saad Sherida al Kaabi, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, the government-owned company that operates all of Qatar’s oil and natural gas activities.

Talks with Qatar:“A lot of infrastructure is going to be built in the United States” and “we’re going to continue to be the world’s leader in the production of oil and gas,” Perry said on CNBC.  

PERRY PUSHES U.S. NATURAL GAS EXPORTS AGAINST RUSSIAN DOMINANCE: Perry also met with the Russian energy minister on Tuesday to discuss keeping the European market competitive for natural gas from the U.S. as Russia builds a major new pipeline to connect Europe via Germany.

Keep the market open: “Competition is a good thing was basically our message,” Perry said on CNBC. “[However], we’re going to put our shoulders to task and try to get as much American LNG [liquefied natural gas] into the [European] community as we can.”

New export markets: Perry is shoring up possible markets for U.S. natural gas all this week at the World Gas Conference, a major conference with about 12,000 attendees.

Onward to Budapest: “Had a great meeting with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on bolstering energy security for Hungary & Europe building on principles of the #ThreeSeas Initiative,” Perry tweeted Wednesday. “America is ready to help advance Hungary’s natural gas & energy infrastructure #WGC2018.”

Touring the think tanks: Perry also talked to business and government officials at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington “on the rise of American #LNG exports and the increased energy security that it will bring to our friends around the world,” he tweeted Wednesday.

Meet the ambassador: Before that, he was meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal George Glass at the conference “on how American exports of #LNG are going to open new opportunities between the U.S. and Portugal,” Perry tweeted. “America’s abundance of natural gas is a game-changer for the energy security of Europe.”

ERNST: TRUMP ‘CAN DO BETTER’ THAN PRUITT: “We can do better” than Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa told John in an interview Thursday morning.

She is not calling for Pruitt’s resignation, saying firing him “is something the president would have to do.”

Still, “outright lying to people is not OK,” Ernst said, referring to Pruitt’s mixed message to her and farmers on his commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Frustration mounts: Pruitt is frustrating Republicans over his management of the ethanol program, Ernst says. She said he is “stonewalling” her and others on answering their questions about his approval of dozens of waivers for oil refiners not to blend ethanol, which has stoked the ire of farmers who recently sued Pruitt.

Ernst wants Pruitt to explain to her where he has derived the authority to issue the waivers, which she questions the legality of.

On the Farm Bill: She hopes the Senate can pass the Farm Bill before July 4th, but lawmakers are wrangling over amendments. So, it’s up in the air whether they will meet the deadline, she said.

The Farm Bill has an energy section, but she is focused on conservation programs that farmers need. She has language included in the bill that would strengthen the regional conservation program under the U.S. Agriculture Department to give incentives for rural conservation.

ANTI-FOSSIL FUEL CAMP UPSET WITH RULING ON WORKER DUES: The Supreme Court’s major hit to labor unions in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Wednesday poses a problem for climate change activists, they say.

The 5-4 decision “hurts working families, the country, and our collective power to combat climate change and create a sustainable economy that works for all of us, said anti-fossil fuel stalwarts at 350.org.

“A safe climate requires strong unions,” said May Boeve, the group’s executive director after the decision, which ruled that public-sector unions cannot force employees to pay fees. “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a blow to our collective efforts to address the climate crisis and build a sustainable economy that works for all.”

The group vows to fight the court’s decision. “The climate justice movement stands shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in labor,” Boeve said.

‘Fight back’: “We will do everything in our power to fight back against the corporate greed behind this decision.”

PRUITT DEPUTY SAYS HE’S NOT GUNNING FOR HIS BOSS’S JOB: Andrew Wheeler, the EPA’s second-ranked official, said Wednesday he is not gunning for his boss’s job and is focused on helping Pruitt implement a deregulatory agenda that they share a passion for.

Wheeler, the deputy administrator of the EPA, is finishing up his third month in office after a difficult confirmation process.

Some of his supporters, and other observers close to the agency, have speculated that Wheeler, a career conservative Senate staffer and lawyer with EPA experience, could serve as a more disciplined, understated replacement to Pruitt should he resign or be fired as a result of his spending, travel, and ethics practices.

‘Flattering’, but content: “While that’s flattering, I am not thinking about it, no,” Wheeler told Josh.

Wheeler, laughing about news reports he has read about his aptitude for the top EPA job, said he’s content with being second-in-command.

I am who I am: “I am the deputy administrator,” Wheeler said. “That’s the job I wanted and that’s the job I have. I could have tried to be the administrator. I could have put my hat in the ring for the administrator. I wasn’t interested in that. I am still not interested in that.”

Pruitt ‘Impressive’: He added that he and Pruitt never discuss the probes facing the administrator. Wheeler said it’s “impressive” how Pruitt has not wavered from his deregulatory agenda despite the scrutiny. Wheeler said he’s working with Pruitt to speed permitting decisions and aims to improve the way EPA talks to communities about potential risks, such as lead in drinking water.

Wheeler provided Josh an update on the EPA’s agenda. Below are a few developments:

CLEAN POWER PLAN REPLACEMENT COMING THIS SUMMER: The EPA will issue a proposed replacement for the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan this summer to combat carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

Wheeler said the agency will issue a more limited rule, regulating power plants individually, in a process known as “inside the fence line.”

“Obviously [I] have been critical in the past of the Obama administration,” Wheeler said. “We need to focus more on inside the fence line, which is what the Clean Air Act directs us to do.”

New fuel standards ‘weeks’ away: The EPA continues to negotiate with California on setting fuel-efficiency standards for model years 2022 to 2025, hoping to avoid a dispute that results in multiple automobile markets.

It will be “weeks” not “months” before the EPA publishes its proposed new standards, Wheeler said.

Wheeler said the EPA won’t be held “hostage” to California, which has a waiver from the agency to set its own fuel pollution rules that are tougher than what the Trump administration wants. The EPA could try to revoke that waiver if California demands too much.

“We hope it doesn’t come to that,” Wheeler said. “We want a national standard. We are working with California and we hope we can reach an agreement with them, but we can’t let one state keep the rest of the country hostage either.”

No setback on ‘secret science’: The EPA is standing by a proposed rule that would block the agency from using scientific studies that do not make public the raw data used in research.

“I really do believe the more information we put out there, the stronger our regulatory decision-making will be,” Wheeler said. “It goes to the core of transparency and right to know.”

The EPA recently extended the public comment period to Aug. 17 in response to the backlash.

Repairing relationships: Wheeler plans to travel to each of the EPA’s regional offices to mend relationships with career staff, some of whom oppose Pruitt’s deregulatory agenda.

He has already “enjoyed” visiting three regional offices and has met all of the agency’s assistant and regional administrators.

Wheeler said career staff have expressed support for some of EPA’s priorities, such as cleaning up Superfund sites faster, but he acknowledged pushback on the agency’s hands-off approach to climate change.

“I am sure there are some people with the agency that aren’t completely on board with Administrator Pruitt or President Trump’s agenda, probably on climate,” Wheeler said. “But as far as the core mission of the agency, and refocusing our efforts on that core mission, people working on those programs like the attention those programs are getting.”

MAN BEHIND PRUITT’S CLIMATE DEBATE IDEA NOW BACKS TRUMP’S COAL BAILOUT PLAN: The former Obama administration official who inspired Pruitt to create “red” and “blue” teams to debate the science of climate change is now putting his support behind President Trump’s bid to save ailing coal and nuclear power plants.

Signing on: Steve Koonin, Obama’s former science chief at the Energy Department, signed onto a letter with more than 70 other former politicians, military and government officials to urge Energy Secretary Rick Perry to continue his push for policies to save the power plants based on national security.

Commending Perry: “We write to commend you for recognizing the important role our civil nuclear energy sector plays in bolstering America’s national security,” the letter sent to Perry Tuesday reads. “We urge you to continue to take concrete steps to ensure the national security attributes of U.S. nuclear power plants are properly recognized by policymakers and are valued in U.S. electricity markets.”

Perry likes Koonin: Perry was the first member of the Trump administration to propose using Koonin’s idea. “It’s a great opportunity for this country to have a conversation about the climate and get the politics out of it, and bring the scientists together,” Perry said while answering questions last year at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the fiscal 2018 budget.

CARPER WANTS D.C. GIVEN CLIMATE CHANGE FLOOD AID: Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced a bill Wednesday that would let the nation’s capital receive coastal flood assistance from the government.

“Just like Delaware and other coastal states around the country, D.C. is battling the effects of climate change, like sea level rise and flooding as a result of more frequent and extreme storms,” Carper said. “However, unlike other vulnerable coastal states, D.C. currently is unable to access federal funds to help prepare for these types of risks and to prevent and mitigate future flood damage.”

What it does: The Flood Prevention Act of 2018 would add the District of Columbia to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Zone Management Program, which would help the capital protect its coastal interests and economies, invest in resilience, and respond to offshore threats and opportunities, according to Carper’s office.

‘Fairness’: “This is a matter of fairness,” Carper said. “It’s time to add our nation’s capital, along with its nearly 700,000 residents, to the list of coastal states to ensure that D.C. has the resources it needs to help combat the greatest environmental threat of our lifetime.”

A companion bill was introduced this month in the House by Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.

GREENS CLAIM ENVIRONMENTAL MANDATE AFTER PRIMARY WINS IN MARYLAND: Environmentalists said Maryland’s primary elections on Tuesday were a big win for the environment.

‘Big win’: The Maryland League of Conservation Voters said 91 percent of the candidates it endorsed won in Tuesday’s primary, marking a “big win for the environment.”

Taking back the legislature: “Voters chose values over incumbency,” said Karla Raettig, the group’s executive director. “With at least three new committee chairs and four new committee vice chairs, both the House and Senate were transformed — we’re excited to work with many new leaders who have the potential to take the General Assembly in a new direction.”

The conservation group endorsed 117 candidates across the state, including incumbents, challengers, and candidates for open seats. Of those, 106 won their races.

The state’s direction: Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is a member of the state climate alliance that is trying to fulfill U.S. obligations under the Paris climate change deal after President Trump said he was withdrawing from the agreement. Hogan is one of three Republican governors in the climate alliance, which is led by New York, California and Washington state.

PIPELINE DEVELOPER RUES ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ OBSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS: A top official of Keystone XL pipeline developer TransCanada is calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make it easier for projects to be approved and built, criticizing efforts by states and environmentalists to block construction.

“We have to address this battle where projects are approved by FERC and they are held up at the state level or even more recently held up by a judge somewhere,” Stanley Chapman III, TransCanada’s executive president and president of U.S. natural gas pipelines, told Josh on the sidelines of the World Gas Conference in Washington. “It’s definitely not getting easier. NGOs and environmental groups are well-funded, well-organized and they seem to have moved on from fighting the battle at the wellhead to frack gas to the pipelines that transports this gas. That is almost unprecedented.”

FERC faces decision: FERC is reviewing its 1999 policy for approving pipeline projects, as the agency evaluates how to best manage the transport of shale natural gas to the market, while balancing environmental and climate change concerns.

Last month, a divided FERC said it won’t make broad evaluations about the impact of climate change when it decides whether to approve interstate pipelines. But even so, states such as New York have used a provision under the Clean Water Act to deny water permits, blocking interstate pipeline projects.

Keystone XL in limbo: TransCanada is deciding whether to move forward with its $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline that would ship oil from Canada’s Alberta oil sands to Steele City, Neb., and then on to refineries along the Gulf Coast.

CRUDE OIL EXPORTS SET RECORD: U.S. exports of crude oil reached 3 million barrels per day for the week ending June 22, the most ever recorded, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday.

The previous weekly record was 2.57 million barrels per day, reached last month.

The U.S. is now the world’s biggest combined producer of crude oil and natural gas, thanks to the shale boom.

SOUTH KOREA TECHNOLOGY GIANT TO BUILD U.S. SOLAR MODULE PLANT: LG Electronics, a South Korean technology company, plans to build a new solar module assembly plant in Huntsville, Ala., the company announced Wednesday.

Starting in 2019, the new manufacturing plant is expected to produce 500 megawatts of solar modules annually, Greentech Media reported. The company will invest $28 million in the plant, creating 160 jobs.

Tariff impact: The move is the latest example of solar companies announcing plans to build plants in America after Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar cells and modules this year.

But the broader solar industry says the new manufacturing won’t make up for job losses in other parts of the solar supply chain as a result of the tariffs, such as installing panels.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg Trump lights a fire under oil the Saudis can’t douse

Wall Street Journal Elon Musk races to exit Tesla’s ‘production hell’

Reuters U.N. aviation agency approves standards to kickstart emissions deal

Washington Post Interior Department plans to let people kill endangered red wolves

New York Times Tropical forests suffered near-record tree losses in 2017

USA Today Trump’s skepticism aside, the Navy is taking climate change seriously