WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! We are getting closer to the end of the longest government shutdown. All eyes are on the Senate as eight Democrats broke with the party last night to advance Republicans’ latest funding proposal 💸.
The United Nations’ annual climate conference, also known as COP30, is kicking off this week, bringing together global leaders in the climate space to discuss how governments can reduce greenhouse gas emissions 🇧🇷. Despite the Trump administration’s absence from the conference, we will be following negotiations as they unfold. If you need a quick refresh on what’s to come at COP30, check it out here.
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.
USING THE LOAN PROGRAMS OFFICE FOR NUCLEAR BUILD-OUT: Energy Secretary Chris Wright revealed this morning that the largest portion of funding from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office will be dedicated to accelerating the construction of new nuclear energy.
“We have significant lending authority at the Loan Programs Office,” Wright said at the American Nuclear Society’s winter conference. “The biggest use of those dollars by far — the biggest use of those dollars will be for nuclear power plants, to get those first plants built.”
Wright indicated that this funding would be matching billions of dollars of private capital in the nuclear energy industry, with the government matching investments 3-to-1 or even 4-to-1 in some circumstances.
“So together, industry, technology, offtakes, and the administration, we got to get nuclear going again, and I believe we can, but it will take all of us,” he said.
Quick reminder: The LPO, established in 2005, is undergoing a rebrand as the Trump administration looks to shift its lending authority away from renewable and clean energy projects to those involving reliable base-load power. Last month, Energy Department officials told reporters that the agency was even renaming the LPO as the “energy dominance financing office.”
Read more from Callie here.
NEWSOM BASHES TRUMP FOR SKIPPING COP30: Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in Brazil this week to attend the United Nations’ annual climate summit or COP30.
President Donald Trump will not be in attendance this year and the administration has decided not to send any high-level representatives to COP30. The administration’s move is part of an effort to steer away from engaging in global climate events. However, as a result, Newsom will be the highest-profile government representative from the United States at the conference this week.
At a Milken Institute event in São Paulo today, Newsom criticized the Trump administration’s move not to send anyone to Brazil this year, calling it disrespectful.
“The reason I’m here is in the absence of leadership coming from the United States, this vacuum, it’s rather jaw-dropping. Not one representation, not one, not even an observer, not someone taking notes,” Newsom said.
Newsom, who has teased a presidential run in 2028, has clashed with Trump over policy changes, including with regard to climate regulations.
“Not one person from the administration showed any respect to any of you, forget politics. Disrespect. We’re in Brazil, one of our great trading partners, one of the world’s great democracies,” Newsom added.
COP30 will officially start tomorrow and last until Nov. 21. The conference will include tens of thousands of international delegates, indigenous peoples, and many others. The discussions will center around how governments can set goals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as many have fallen short.
Read more by Maydeen here.
SHELL SCRAPS SCOTTISH OFFSHORE WIND FARMS: Oil and gas major Shell is no longer moving forward with building two offshore wind farms off the coast of Scotland, as the fossil fuel industry further retreats from recent green investments.
The details: Shell confirmed this morning that it has exited the MarramWind and CampionWind projects, both of which were not expected to be finished and online until the 2030s, generating a combined total of up to five gigawatts of power.
Shell originally won the leases for the projects in 2022. Amid rising supply chain costs in the region and the fossil fuel industry’s pivot away from decarbonization interests, though, the company was exploring exiting the projects as early as July of last year.
As part of the agreement, Shell has sold its 50% interest in MarramWind to ScottishPower Renewables and returned its lease for CampionWind to Crown Estate Scotland, according to Reuters. ScottishPower Renewables reportedly plans to continue developing MarramWind.
“After a comprehensive review and in line with Shell’s previously announced refocusing of its power strategy on leveraging Shell’s strengths in trading and retailing, the conclusion was to not take the CampionWind project forward,” the company said.
EPA PROPOSES CHANGES TO PFAS REPORTING: The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed changes to how manufacturers of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances report their use.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS and referred to as forever chemicals, are found in a number of consumer products, such as shampoo, electronics, and clothing. PFAS are called forever chemicals because they do not naturally break down, resulting in their presence in the environment.
The Biden administration in 2023 finalized PFAS reporting regulations requiring any person that manufactures (imports) or that has manufactured (including imported) these chemicals since 2011 to report information regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards.
However, the EPA argued the Biden rule “exemplifies regulatory overreach by imposing a nearly billion-dollar compliance burden on industry without establishing any clear framework for utilizing the collected data or demonstrating how it advances environmental protection goals.”
The EPA proposed exemptions for PFAS manufacturers, including those that manufacture or import PFAS in mixtures or products at concentrations 0.1% or lower. The EPA’s proposal also exempts imported articles, certain byproducts, impurities, research and development chemicals, and non-isolated intermediates.
WINTER WEATHER HITS MUCH OF THE COUNTRY: Parts of the Midwest, Appalachians and Northeast will be bracing for a drop in temperature starting today as part of the first winter-like storm of the season.
An arctic blast from Canada is pushing cold air south, placing more than 84 million people under winter condition advisories and warnings in cities like Dallas, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, New York, and others, NBC reports.
Parts of Chicago saw flurries yesterday and are expected to see more snow today. NBC said that 28 million people across the Great Lakes, the interior Northeast, and the Appalachians are under winter weather alerts, in cities like Chicago and Milwaukee.
The arctic blast is expected to move eastward, bringing record low temperatures to Alabama, Mississippi, and other parts of the South. Snowfall is expected to continue tomorrow into Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
LANDMARK GREEN FUEL LEVY TO HIKE FLIGHT COSTS…FROM SINGAPORE: Starting next year, Singapore will be imposing the world’s first sustainable aviation fuel levy on flights leaving the Southeast Asian country.
The details: The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore announced today that travelers flying out of Singapore will have to pay an extra fee, as much as 41.60 Singapore dollars (around $31.95). This fee will only be imposed on those traveling in premium cabin seats that are also flying to the Americas. Those on flights to the Americas flying in economy seating will be charged S$10.40 (just under $8).
The levy also drops for those traveling within Southeast Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, Central and West Asia, as well as the Middle East. The lowest levy, for those traveling within Southeast Asia in economy class, is only S$1.00 (about $0.77).
These fees will go into effect for tickets sold after April 1 for flights leaving Singapore starting Oct. 1. Those transferring through Singapore will not be forced to pay the levy.
Singapore is the first country in the world to impose such a levy in an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional jet fuels. The funds collected are set to go toward purchasing sustainable aviation fuels. The country is aiming to have green fuels making up 3-5% of its fuel consumption by 2030, according to Bloomberg.
ICYMI – NEW YORK GREENLIGHTS GAS PIPELINE: The Northeast Supply Enhancement project, a controversial pipeline proposal in New York, has finally cleared regulatory and permitting hurdles that allowed Democrats in the state to block the fossil fuel project for years.
The details: New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation late last week issued a water quality certification permit that had previously been repeatedly denied. This paves the way for the pipeline project to be constructed, expanding an existing transcontinental gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
The Trump administration credits itself for helping the project clear the regulatory hurdle, claiming that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to approve the pipeline project in exchange for the administration lifting a stop work order on the Empire Wind offshore wind farm.
Hochul has denied that she caved to pressure from the administration, instead saying last week that the decision was rooted in supporting an all-of-the-above approach to keep New Yorkers’ lights and heat on.
Some reaction: Several state Democrats have lambasted the governor over the decision, with Rep. Jerry Nadler insisting that it will threaten “coastal economics” and marine ecosystems off Staten Island and the Rockaway Peninsula.
“This decision regrettably disregards the science, the voices of New Yorkers, and the goals set out in our own climate law,” Nadler said. “By approving this pipeline, the state risks locking our communities into decades of unnecessary fossil fuel dependence and undoing much of the progress we’ve made toward a cleaner, safer future.”
A LOOK AHEAD:
Nov. 8 – 12 The American Nuclear Society’s 2025 winter conference and expo is being held in Washington, D.C.
Nov. 9 – 11 The Edison Electric Institute is holding its 60th Financial Conference in Hollywood, Florida.
Nov. 9 – 12 The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners annual meeting and education conference is taking place in Seattle, Washington.
Nov. 10 – 21 The United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP30) is taking place in Belém, Brazil.
Nov. 11 Veterans Day
Nov. 13 The American Association for the Advancement of Science is holding a panel titled “PFAS in Air: Understanding Emissions, Exposure, and Emerging Research.”
Nov. 13 The Center for Global Development is holding a virtual discussion on climate financing in the context of COP30.
Nov. 14 The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting the U.S. launch of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan’s 2026 energy outlook through 2050.
Nov. 14 Resources for the Future will be holding a webinar titled “The Future of Biofuels: Role of Policy in Biofuel Adoption.”
RUNDOWN
Washington Post Climate change is out. Energy affordability is in.
Bloomberg Data Centers in Nvidia’s Hometown Stand Empty Awaiting Power
Reuters From the Andes to the Amazon, indigenous leaders arrive for COP30 climate summit
