Daily on Energy: Iran updates, energy austerity, and the EV Rust Belt

Meanwhile, leaders across the world are now asking their citizens to fly and drive less as the war in the Middle East has tightened global energy supplies. 🛢️🚗✈️

Also, the U.S. Forest Service is moving out of Washington, D.C.. Keep reading to see where its new headquarters will be. 🌲🐻

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 SAYS IRAN WANTS TO END THE WAR: President Donald Trump said that Iran has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, but Tehran has denied these claims. 

The president wrote today on Truth Social that he would consider the request only if the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear.” He added, “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” 

However, the Associated Press reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the president’s remarks “false and baseless.” 

Trump is set to address the nation tonight to provide an update on the war. The president is expected to criticize allies that have decided not to engage in the conflict. Reuters also reported that Trump said he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing the U.S. from NATO. 

“They haven’t been friends when we needed them,” Trump told Reuters in an interview. “We’ve never asked them for much … it’s a one-way street.”

The president also said the U.S. will be “out of Iran pretty quickly.” 

WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS WEIGH ‘EVERY CONCEIVABLE IDEA’ ON OIL: Trump administration officials are looking everywhere for ideas for keeping energy prices down as they contemplate the possibility of the price of oil going as high as $150 a barrel, Politico reported last night.

“They’re trying to come up with every conceivable idea that might alleviate energy prices, including the exercise of emergency powers and authorities and national defense reasons to address the supply chain disruption in the Strait of Hormuz,” an industry official told the publication. 

Discussions are being run through the National Energy Dominance Council. Officials see $100 a barrel as a baseline and are not ruling out $200. 

NATIONAL LEADERS CALLING ON CITIZENS TO REDUCE ENERGY USE: Leaders across the world are calling on their citizens to use less energy as the war in Iran has disrupted global energy markets. 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed his nation today, warning that the economic shocks caused by the war in the Middle East could be felt for months. 

“If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need,” Albanese said. “Just fill up like you normally would. Think of others in your community.”

He added that Australia is looking to lower prices by producing more fuel and working with trading partners to obtain additional gasoline and fertilizer. 

“The months ahead may not be easy,” he added. “I want to be upfront about that: No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing.” 

Last year, Australia imported more than 80% of its refined fuel from Asia, which is refined using crude sourced in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported. 

Meanwhile, European Union energy chief Dan Jørgensen earlier this week also called on citizens to travel less in response to the energy crisis. He noted that, since the war started, gas prices in the EU have risen by 70% and oil prices by 60%. 

Politico reported that Jørgensen is also asking member countries to follow the advice of the International Energy Agency, which is to “work from home where possible, reduce highway speed limits by ten kilometers [an hour], encourage public transport, alternate private car access … increase car sharing and adopt efficient driving practices.”

Jørgensen also noted that member countries should expand their renewable energy capabilities. 

Read more by Maydeen here. 

AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE RUST BELT? Companies that supply parts to automakers, such as Magna, Dana, and BorgWarner, are facing a major retrenchment thanks to the rapid shift away from electric vehicles in the past year, the Wall Street Journal reports. More than $20 billion in announced investments in EV and battery facilities were canceled last year, according to Atlas Public Policy. 

Magna built a $375 million factory in St. Clair, Michigan, to make battery enclosures for General Motors’ electric truck. 

Although GM hasn’t backed away from EVs as fast as some other automakers, it has not seen nearly enough demand to keep the factory in business. The expectation was that it would be making a million EVs a year. In December, it was making 8,000. The factory has become empty. 

Notable quote: “We did everything right,” said St. Clair Mayor Bill Cedar, who helped attract the factory using state and local incentives. “Maybe the government should be slower to espouse programs that it thinks will be the new wave,” he said.

RUSSIA WILL PROCEED TO HELP CUBA: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the country plans to continue to provide Cuba with assistance, following a Russian-tanker delivering fuel to the island. 

A Russian-tanker made landfall in Cuba yesterday, providing the island with its first shipment of fuel in three months. The tanker carried 730,000 barrels of oil to the island. 

“Cuba is our closest friend and partner in the Caribbean, and we don’t have the right to abandon it. Assistance to Cuba will continue,” Zakharova said, according to Al Jazeera. She added that Russia is calling on the U.S to lift its blockade of fuel shipments to the island. 

The president has said that he would allow Cuba to obtain fuel from Russia after months of placing a blockade on fuel shipments and threatening to take the island. 

ICYMI – FOREST SERVICE TO MOVE OUT OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL: The Trump administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. 

The move is part of the administration’s plan to overhaul the federal workforce and reduce costs. The AP reported that the agency’s move is expected to be complete by summer 2027 and will bring leadership closer to the forest and communities it serves. 

The Forest Service said that the agency’s lands and operations are primarily concentrated in the West. The agency said the move would also save money. 

“Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found — not just behind a desk in the capital,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. 

GOP NOMINEE FOR NEW YORK GOVERNOR PLEDGES TO HALVE ELECTRIC BILLS: Bruce Blakeman, the Republican running for governor of New York, is trying to gain an advantage over incumbent and favorite Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, on the issue of electricity prices. 

“I can cut your electric bill in half, day one, when I become governor,” Blakeman told the New York Post. 

He argued that only about a third of bills go to energy costs, and that he would cut delivery costs and taxes. 

The Post noted that, for the average customer on Long Island – where Blakeman is the Nassau County executive – almost 45% of their bills go toward supply charges. Only 6% goes to taxes, while half go to delivery costs — which do include some green energy programs, according to data from the Regional Plan Association. 

Blakeman also said he would support fracking in the state.

RUNDOWN 

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