Daily on Energy, presented by Americans for Fusion: Reviewing Trump’s first year back in office

ONE YEAR OF TRUMP 2.0…WHERE CAMPAIGN PROMISES STAND: Today marks one year since President Donald Trump took office for the second time. His administration quickly jumped into action to deliver on his agenda and many energy-related campaign promises. Not all promises have been met, however. Let’s take a closer look: 

“My goal will be to cut your energy costs in half within 12 months after taking office, and we can do that,” Trump said during a Michigan campaign rally in August 2024. “If you have the oil supply – which we have more than anybody – your heating, and air conditioning, electricity, gasoline, all can be cut down in half.” 

Lower gas prices: Gas prices have consistently fallen in the last 12 months, with the national average of gasoline sitting comfortably below $3 per gallon. As of today, AAA reported the national average of gasoline prices to be around $2.822. This time last year, the average price was roughly $3.125. 

Trump cabinet officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have touted the administration’s policies for the downward pressure. However, other price trackers, such as GasBuddy, have attributed the decline to refinery utilization, seasonally weak demand, and OPEC+’s continuous increase in oil production. 

‘Drill, baby drill’: Trump made ‘drill, baby, drill’ a clear slogan of his 2024 campaign, promising to increase domestic drilling to help lower energy prices. As the price of oil fell last year, though – dropping to a four-year-low of less than $55 a barrel – it has become more difficult for producers to pursue new drilling opportunities. In fact, there are dozens fewer (37) active oil and gas drilling rigs than this time last year. 

“Drill, baby, drill definitely did not happen in any stretch of the imagination,” Kirk Edwards, former chairman of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told Callie in December. 

Block offshore wind: It is well known that Trump detests wind energy, and he made that clear once again during his last campaign. In May 2024, Trump said his administration would halt offshore wind energy projects “on day one.” Since last January, administration officials have done everything in their power to block existing and new projects. 

Not a single new wind energy project has received permits or approvals from the federal government in the last 12 months. Projects already under construction have also been threatened, as the administration issued stop-work orders and paused leases for those set to come online as early as this year. Three of these projects saw legal wins last week, when multiple district judges ruled against the administration and allowed them to continue construction. 

Slash electricity bills: Electricity prices have only increased during Trump’s second administration thus far. In the latest update to the Consumer Price Index, electricity prices soared by 6.7% for the year ending in December. 

The administration has turned its back on quick-to-grid resources like renewables, instead promising to lower prices by extending the life of aging coal plants, building out natural gas infrastructure, and supporting new nuclear power. But as natural gas faces supply chain delays and advanced nuclear is known for lengthy regulatory approvals, it is growing increasingly difficult for the administration to fulfill that promise.

The EV ‘mandate’: Over the past year, the administration has also sought to end the so-called “electric vehicle mandate,” which are measures that support the expansion of EVs. Republicans have argued that policies enacted during the Biden administration that supported EV adoption were costly to consumers and automakers. 

The administration has since ended incentives and rolled back regulations designed to accelerate EV adoption. For instance, the Trump administration in the OBBBA ended the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, which were $7,500 for purchasing a new EV and $4,000 for a used one.

In addition, the administration has also moved to roll back emissions and fuel economy standards for vehicles.

Read more here about the administration’s effort to reshape the auto industry. 

PETE STAUBER’S MINNESOTA MINING BILL: The House will vote this week on Minnesota Republican Rep. Pete Stauber’s Congressional Review Act resolution that would overturn and prevent a ban on mining in northern Minnesota. 

Stauber’s bill would end the Biden administration’s 2023 mining ban on 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest. The Biden administration placed a mining ban on the region due to concerns over the environment and recreational activity.

However, the region is home to one of the largest untapped reserves of copper, nickel, and cobalt in North America, at a time when the administration wants to reduce reliance on Chinese- minerals. 

“We need these minerals for our everyday life,” Stauber told Maydeen. “We need them for our defense weapons. We need them for our computers. We need them to win the AI war.” 

Some background: Earlier this month, Reuters first reported that the Trump administration and Republicans launched a plan to undo the ban. Stauber said the Biden administration failed to notify Congress about the public lands order as required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. 

Now, the Trump Interior Department has submitted a notice relating to the public lands order. Stauber’s bill, slated for a vote tomorrow, would reject DOI’s notice. 

Stauber said that the CRA bill “brings the authority back to Congress, where it should be.” 

The CRA would allow lawmakers to bypass a filibuster and pass a resolution with simple majorities in both chambers. Once passed by Congress and signed by the president, the resolution prohibits the agency from issuing a similar rule. 

Who benefits? For decades, Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the Chilean miner Antofagasta, has been trying to develop a mining project in the region. If the ban is lifted, the administration could reissue the company a mining lease, but it would still need to undergo environmental review and permitting. 

Stauber said the “CRA only overturns the mining ban.” 

“Any mine that wants to mine has to follow the rigorous regulatory standards already in place,” he said. “They have to meet or exceed every single standard both federally or state before they would even be considered to be able to mine. This does not greenlight any project, it only reverses the illegal and dangerous mining ban that the Biden administration put forth.”

IN OTHER CRITICAL MINERAL NEWS: The State Department earlier today is inviting partners from across the world to attend its first inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on Feb. 4. 

“Strengthening critical mineral supply chains with our international partners is vital to America’s economic and national security, technological leadership, and a resilient energy future,” the department wrote on X. 

The summit comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to grow the domestic supply of critical minerals to reduce reliance on China. In addition, Trump has also intensified talks over the U.S. purchasing Greenland, a territory that also holds strategic resources like critical minerals, for national security purposes.

FRACKERS WARN U.S. NEEDS TO GO OVERSEAS: As the Trump administration has yet to deliver on its “drill, baby, drill” agenda in regard to new domestic drilling, there are some drillers and frackers who say the industry needs to look abroad. 

Bryan Sheffield, the largest shareholder in the Australian natural gas company Tamboran Resources and founder of the former oil and gas company Parsley Energy, told the Financial Times that domestic producers are running out of good spaces to drill. 

“The Permian has been a massive wealth creator for America, but we’ve drilled the best prospects and are running out of inventory,” Sheffield told the outlet. “Americans will need to explore outside of America in the next three to five years and use their expertise to develop new shale basins.” 

Some context: While the number of active rigs has dropped substantially in the last year, production levels have reached record highs. Some producers have explained that this is because of technological advancements at existing wells, allowing drillers to get more oil out of one well. 

“We can use fewer drill sites. I mean, it’s amazing,” Jason Isaac, founder and CEO of American Energy Institute, previously told Callie. “They used to drill one hole on a pad, and now there’s multiple holes, and they’re going in different directions, and so they’re being more productive with less equipment.” 

REVIVING VENEZUELA ALUMINUM INDUSTRY WILL REQUIRE BILLIONS: After capturing Venezuela’s former dictator, the U.S. has aimed to increase oil production in the country. However, other strategic resources like critical minerals may also be vital for the U.S. but could come at a cost. 

Wood Mackenzie released a report that found that Venezuela’s aluminum industry would require up to $2.3 billion to restore production capacity. It noted that the country’s aluminum output has dropped from a peak capacity of over 600,000 tonnes per annum to nearly zero in 2025. 

“Unlike some frontier jurisdictions, Venezuela is not starting from zero when it comes to aluminium,” said Uday Patel, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “It already produces — or at least has produced — at an industrial scale. The country has long mined bauxite and once ran a sizeable aluminium value chain, from alumina refining to metal smelting, powered by hydroelectric plants in the Guayana region. Downstream, Sural was once a major producer of EC wire rod exporting significant volumes across North America and Europe.”

Aluminum is needed for a number of industries, including transportation, electronic, energy, and even household goods. Still, there would need to be significant investment in mining, refining, and smelting in order to restore production capacity. 

ROLLS-ROYCE PARTNERS WITH UNITED STATES FIRM TO DEPLOY SMALL NUCLEAR REACTORS IN UNITED KINGDOM AND CZECH REPUBLIC: Advanced engineering and technology solutions firm Amentum is partnering with Rolls-Royce to develop and build the first small modular reactors in the United Kingdom and Czech Republic. 

The details: Amentum, headquartered in Virginia, announced the news earlier today, saying they would be primarily responsible for the integration, oversight, governance, construction management, and execution of the project. In the U.K., the collaboration expects to deliver 1.5 gigawatts worth of new nuclear energy to the grid, supporting the country’s net-zero goals. It is also expected to create more than 8,000 long-term jobs. 

“The Amentum Rolls-Royce SMR collaboration advances the deployment of this transformational technology, a critical enabler in strengthening energy security in the UK and continental Europe,” John Heller, Amentum CEO, said in a statement. 

Some background: Last summer, the U.K. government announced that it had picked Rolls-Royce as its preferred bidder to develop numerous small modular reactors. These smaller reactors are expected to be used for powering data centers and several million more homes. These are not expected to come online until the 2030s. The company has also been selected to build 3 gigawatts worth of nuclear power in the Czech Republic. 

Rolls-Royce used a small pressurized water reactor design, with its SMRs expected to have a capacity of around 470 megawatts. 

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