WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! As we’re entering a much needed weekend, be sure to take some time to unplug, go off social media and get outside over the next few days.
In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we take a closer look at Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s call for Europe to end its imports of Russian gas and oil, replacing it with U.S. projects.
The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to end the greenhouse gas reporting program, which requires large polluters to report their emissions publicly.
Plus, keep reading to find out where global sales of electric vehicles stand as Republicans have moved to strip federal subsidies.
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.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Republicans have once again begun negotiations with Democrats on bipartisan permitting reform legislation. In order to bring more Democrats on board, some GOP lawmakers are emphasizing how beneficial meaningful permitting reform would be for clean energy projects.
“Renewable energy today is actually Chinese energy, and it’s Chinese energy because they control so much of the critical mineral supply chain that supports renewable energy,” Alaska Rep. Nick Begich told Callie during an interview in his office on Thursday, noting how permitting reform will accelerate critical mineral mining in the U.S.
“And so for folks who support renewable energy, they need to support American mining,” Begich said.
U.S. AMPS UP PRESSURE ON EU TO END RUSSIAN ENERGY IMPORTS: As Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s trip to Europe comes to a close, he continued to push for the European Union to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas and to replace it with U.S. imports.
The details: During an event in Brussels this morning, Wright was pressed whether countries like Hungary and Slovakia – which currently opposed the EU’s plans to phase out Russian energy – should end their imports from Moscow.
“Absolutely,” Wright said. “We want to displace all Russian gas…we want to end the Russia Ukraine War. The more we can strangle Russia’s ability to fund this murderous war, the better for all of us.”
Wright went on to say that he would like to see more natural gas and nuclear technology imported from the U.S., if not developed in the EU itself.
The EU has dramatically decreased its imports of Russian oil and gas since Putin invaded Ukraine in early 2022 and is aiming to phase out Russian oil fully by 2028.
When asked whether Wright had pressed EU officials to accelerate that timeline, the energy secretary said it was “discussed.”
“Could it be done faster? I think it could,” he said, before highlighting the U.S.’s increased capacity to export more LNG to the EU.
‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’ UPDATE: The domestic oil and gas industry has begun to see some relief after weeks of rigs being dropped, as prices remain low and the administration’s tariffs on steel have stayed in place.
The details: For the week ending today, the U.S. added two new rigs to its total active rig count that includes drilling operations both on land and offshore, according to estimates released by Baker Hughes. Both oil rigs added this week are located onshore.
This brings the total number of active rigs in the U.S. to 539. While up for the week, there are still 51 fewer active rigs in operation compared to this time last year.
The increase in rigs, albeit small, is a positive sign for oil and gas producers that have been feeling pressure of lower futures and high supply chain costs. Major companies like ConocoPhillips, BP, and Chevron have been forced to implement sweeping layoffs over market conditions. Domestic producers have warned that if prices continue to dip into the low $60s and even low $50s, drillers will be forced to take more extreme cost cutting measures.
EPA MOVES TO TERMINATE THE GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING PROGRAM: The Environmental Protection Agency announced today it would propose a rule to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
The federal program requires large pollution emitters to report their greenhouse gas emissions publicly. The program has collected annual emissions data from nearly 8,000 large industrial facilities and other sources since 2011.
However, the EPA argues that the Clean Air Act does not require the agency to collect emission data from companies. If the rule is finalized, it would eliminate mandatory reporting for most large facilities, including all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, as well as CO2 injection sites.
“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.
“Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation’s prosperity and hurting American communities. With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice,” he added.
The move is part of Zeldin’s agenda to roll back over two dozen climate-related regulations implemented by the Biden administration.
GLOBAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES ARE UP: The electric vehicle industry experienced a boost in global sales last month.
Rho Motion, a market research firm, released data today that showed global purchases of electric vehicles increased by 5% compared to July and were 15% higher than in August 2024. The purchase of EVs include 1.16 million battery electric vehicles and 0.57 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, totaling nearly 1.7 million purchases.
The report found that EV sales in North America, which included the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, are up 6% YTD.
The boost in sales comes just one month before the U.S. terminates its EV tax credits. As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it will eliminate the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits, which offered consumers up to $7,500 for purchasing a new EV and $4,000 for a used one. The credits are set to expire on Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, other regions also experienced a surge in sales compared to the same time last year. China’s sales rose by 25%, while Europe experienced a 31% increase.
Reaction: Senior Policy Director Ingrid Malmgren of Plug-In America said: “[S]ales in the rest of the world have taken off as emerging markets are leapfrogging over the gas car phase and moving directly to electric vehicles.”
“EVs are here to stay. They save drivers all over the world money by eliminating reliance on gasoline, they improve air quality in cities globally, and they provide a superior driver experience with less maintenance. They are simply better vehicles,” she added.
Read more by Maydeen here.
AUSTRALIAN CRITICAL MINERALS COMPANIES VISIT: Australian critical mineral companies will travel to the U.S. next week to look for ways for the two nations to collaborate.
Reuters reports that more than 20 companies will fly in next week to attend meetings in New York and Washington. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission is leading the delegation.
The visit comes shortly after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with Trump about opportunities to cooperate on critical minerals. Albanese will be in attendance later this month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Australia has continued to position itself as a key supplier of critical minerals, specifically to Western nations seeking to reduce their reliance on China.
GEORGIA BATTERY PLANT IMMIGRATION RAID UPDATE: The construction of a battery plant in Georgia is now delayed by several months due to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement raid last week, executives with Hyundai Motor Co. have now revealed.
The details: Hyundai CEO José Muñoz told Bloomberg that the company is facing labor shortages after federal agents detained 475 workers, mostly South Koreans, during a raid at the battery plant. The workers were expected to be transported to South Korea today.
“This is going to give us minimum two to three months delay, because now all these people want to get back,” Muñoz told the outlet. “Then you need to see how can you fill those positions. And for the most part, those people are not in the U.S.”
While there are fears the raid and potential future similar incidents might threaten domestic manufacturing, or even foreign investments in the U.S., Hyundai is remaining committed to its U.S. operations.
SENATE REPUBLICAN PLACES HOLD ON DHS NOMINEES: North Carolina Republican Ted Budd has placed a hold on President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Department of Homeland Security over his concerns with the administration’s handling of disaster response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The details: Earlier this week, Budd accused FEMA of “stonewalling” disaster funds to his state that would go towards recovering from Hurricane Helene last year. He expressed concerns over Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s crackdown on the agency, saying the administration has caused delays in releasing necessary disaster funding. In an interview with CNN, Budd pointed to Noem’s order requiring her signature for any funds over $100,000.
“We’ve let leadership know we’re going to place holds on all DHS nominees until we get an appropriate dialogue and response on the outstanding invoices that have not been paid to western North Carolina from FEMA,” Budd said. “So, it’s been very slow. But going back to December is when we appropriated the money, when we voted for the money and approved it there. But now here we are, nine months later, we still haven’t seen the reimbursements.”
Budd has placed holds on three nominees to DHS, preventing Republicans from quickly advancing to a floor vote without his consent. The holds specifically target James Percival who has been nominated to serve as general counsel, Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Pedro Allende who was tapped for under secretary for science and technology.
RUNDOWN
Grist Data centers gobble Earth’s resources. What if we took them to space instead?
E&E News Wind turbines aren’t the biggest threat to birds
New York Times In the Pacific, Unkept U.S. Promises on Climate Cut Deep
