WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, Daily on Energy readers! House lawmakers sparred over Rep. Bruce Westerman’s permitting reform bill, with Democrats continuing to signal hesitation – saying the measure does not do enough to protect renewable energy projects 🏛️. Below, we provide key takeaways from the hearing – which lasted for more than five hours.
In other news, the Interior Department released its five-year oil and gas leasing plan🛢️🌊, proposing new lease sales off the coast of California, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico.
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.
HOUSE LAWMAKERS TAKE ON PERMITTING REFORM: The House Natural Resources Committee advanced Republican chairman Bruce Westerman‘s permitting reform bill just moments ago after adding an amendment that includes language preventing the executive office from revoking permits for energy projects – a crucial concession to secure more Democratic support.
To address concerns within his own party, Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who was the first co-sponsor of the SPEED Act, offered an amendment that would prevent agencies from withdrawing or terminating permits without cause. The amendment was backed by Republican Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota and Westerman, resulting in it being added to the bill.
Throughout the hearing Democrats expressed hesitation to support the chairman’s bill, arguing it lacked the necessary safeguards for renewable energy projects as the Trump administration has made moves to block wind and solar projects.
Democrat Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island said “In order for me to vote for this bill, I need strong language to ensure that the Trump administration cannot continue to unfairly block clean energy projects from getting into the grid.”
Following the passing of the amendment, Magaziner said he was encouraged to see the amendment added to the bill, but argued it did not go far enough. He said the amendment would not apply to projects retroactively and does not address projects already blocked or paused by the Trump administration.
Some background: The SPEED Act would reform the environmental law the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of infrastructure projects. The law is necessary to start the construction and development of fossil fuel and clean energy projects.
The committee voted 25-18 to advance the SPEED Act to the House floor for a vote. The only Democrats to vote in favor of the bill included Golden and Democrat Rep. Adam Gray of California.
Read more from Callie and Maydeen here.
INTERIOR UNLEASHES ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, AND GULF COAST OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE PLAN: The Trump administration is proposing to lease large swaths of water in the Pacific, High Arctic, and eastern Gulf Coast in its new five-year management plan for oil and gas development.
The details: The plan, released not too long ago, terminates the oil and gas leasing plan issued under the Biden administration and outlines as many as 34 possible offshore lease sales for between 2026 and 2031. Interior is proposing holding these sales off the coast of California, all around Alaska’s coastline, and nearly the entire Gulf of Mexico (aka Gulf of America).
The proposal suggests six lease sales in the Pacific, as early as 2027, for an area off the coast of Southern California. It also recommends holding a lease sale in nearly every planning area off the coast of Alaska, including the southern Gulf, northern Beaufort Sea, and the High Arctic.
Most of the lease sales proposed for the Gulf Coast are located offshore of Texas and Louisiana. However, Interior has also proposed sales in 2029 and 2030 in the eastern gulf, closer to Florida’s western shore.
Some reaction: Environmental and ocean conservation groups have since blasted the proposed plan, with Oceana’s campaign director Joseph Gordon calling it “an oil spill nightmare.”
Meanwhile, the updated management plan has been lauded by offshore drilling industry groups, including the National Ocean Industries Association.
“Energy security is national security. The Gulf is an energy powerhouse, producing nearly 2 million barrels of oil per day with production recognized as among the lowest carbon intensity in the world,” NOIA President Erik Milito said. “A clear leasing schedule gives companies the certainty to invest, strengthens supply chains, bolsters communities, and keeps the U.S. competitive in a rapidly evolving global energy landscape.”
Read more from Callie here.
FULLY STAFFED FERC BACKS FOSSIL FUELS: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held its first open monthly meeting with a fully staffed commission in over six months today, with newly appointed Chair Laura Swett sending a clear signal that fossil fuel projects will take a priority under her leadership.
“My priority as chairman is to ensure that our country can connect and power data centers as quickly and as durably as possible,” Swett said in her opening remarks, echoing messaging from the Trump administration in favor of boosting baseload energy to support demand brought on by artificial intelligence and large-load facilities.
Before diving into the agenda for the day, Swett said that the five commissioners met early this morning to vote in favor of initiating a rulemaking on the 2025 five-year review of the oil pipeline index. This index level is used to determine annual changes in oil pipeline rate ceilings for next summer.
“We recognize that this item suffered from unprecedented delay, and we want to give stakeholders relief as soon as possible,” Swett said.
This wasn’t the only fossil fuel-related action taken today, as the agency also voted on exploring blanket authorizations for certain activities at liquefied natural gas plants and hydroelectric projects.
Some background: Today’s meeting marked the first with Swett as chair, as well as the first with newly confirmed commissioner David LaCerte. The two Republicans were nominated by President Donald Trump earlier this year, shifting the independent agency to a 3-2 Republican majority.
It was long expected that both Swett and LaCerte would emphasize the president’s energy dominance agenda during their terms with FERC, boosting the development of fossil fuel related projects through streamlining regulations and slashing bureaucratic red tape. That focus was evident in today’s open meeting.
COP30 UPDATES: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on delegates today at the UN annual climate summit or COP30 to show “willingness and flexibility” to deliver an agreement on how nations can meet greenhouse gas emission targets.
Nations are negotiating over financing poorer countries’ clean energy transitions and how to fill the gap between pledged emission cuts and what is needed to stop rising temperatures. The two-week summit is scheduled to wrap up at the end of the week.
“I strongly appeal to all delegations to show willingness and flexibility to deliver results that protect people and keep 1.5 degrees alive,” Guterres said. “A fair outcome – concrete on funding adaptation, credible on emission cuts, bankable on finance.”
“No delegation will leave Belém with everything it wants… But every delegation has a duty to reach a balanced deal,” he said.
Some news on COP31: Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Turkey will host next year’s climate summit. As part of a compromise, Australia will lead the summit’s negotiations among governments. Both countries bid to host next year’s summit.
ICYMI – FOSSIL FUEL GROUPS, GOP URGE EPA TO KEEP EMISSIONS REPORTING PROGRAM: The Trump administration is facing backlash from electricity and energy industry groups, oil and gas firms, and even some Republican members of Congress over its efforts to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
The move is part of Trump’s broader agenda to end climate initiatives and policies established by previous administrations that do not align with his plans to bolster the fossil fuel industry. While the fossil fuel industry and Republican Party have broadly backed these rollbacks, many are now breaking with the administration and asking the EPA to reverse course.
The pushback: On Nov. 3, the EPA concluded a public comment period on its proposal to end the program, also known as GHGRP, which garnered more than 53,000 comments in support of and against the move. Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota is one of the several Republican leaning individuals who submitted a letter in support of the program, co-authoring a letter of support with Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
“Without authoritative reporting we can’t defend ourselves against other countries, trading partners, who are already doing that sort of thing,” Cramer told Callie yesterday, pointing to the EU’s carbon tariff set to take effect in January 2026.
By ending the federally managed emissions reporting program, Cramer said, the U.S. could be put at a “competitive disadvantage” in carbon-intensive industries – such as energy, concrete, and aluminum – as the EU and others move forward with decarbonization efforts.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as oil and gas producers such as BKV Corporation, Shell, and Exxon, have also expressed similar criticism of the plan, warning it could result in varying state-level reporting requirements – increasing reporting burdens – and threaten global market access.
The reporting program is also receiving support from major energy and manufacturing industry groups including the American Petroleum Institute, the American Exploration and Production Council, LNG Allies, the Natural Gas Innovation Network, and the Western Energy Alliance.
“It was very encouraging to see the broad showing of support across the entire economy, not just oil and gas sector, but we saw helpful comments from the Chamber of Commerce, representing airlines, [and] utilities,” EDF’s senior manager of energy transition Sean Hackett told Callie.
You can dive more into these comments of support and find the EPA’s response here.
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