WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! Today, we are sharing an exclusive report that reveals the significant cost of permitting delays. The findings show these delays have prevented the creation of about 50,000 new jobs and resulted in nearly $75 billion in lost economic benefits. 💰 We have all the details below.
In other news, Maydeen sat down with Andre Zeitoun, the CEO and founder of Ionic Mineral Technologies, which last month discovered a trove of critical minerals. He outlines what’s next for the company as the administration works to bolster domestic supply 🪨.
Meanwhile, we have the latest on a lawsuit revolving around the administration’s efforts to suspend leases for offshore wind projects 🌬️.
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.
DAILY ON ENERGY EXCLUSIVE – BREAKING DOWN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES LOST AND DELAYED BY PERMITTING: There is widespread agreement across the aisle that the current process for obtaining federal permits required for building new energy and infrastructure projects takes too long and can harm growth.
A new report set to be released by political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity tomorrow also found that the process has been quite costly, with delays and cancellations depriving Americans of roughly 50,000 new jobs and nearly $75 billion in economic benefits.
The report, obtained ahead of its release by Daily on Energy, takes a closer look at 30 projects in the states of Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. All of these projects are energy-related, having the potential to bring down consumer costs through new generation and transmission infrastructure. AFP previously analyzed these projects in 2023.
Since then, the group found that five of the 30 projects were completed, seven are under construction, six have been canceled, and 12 remain stuck in the permitting process.
Projects of note: The Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona has been in the works since 2015. Once completed, the mine is believed to be capable of producing up to 25% of the country’s copper demand and would create an estimated $61 billion in economic benefits over 60 years. However, it has been repeatedly delayed by administrative requirements and litigation. The U.S. Forest Service only just published its final environmental impact statement for the project in June of last year.
In 2015, energy company National Fuel sought to build the Northern Access 2016 Project, a 96-mile natural gas pipeline across Pennsylvania to New York. The project would have delivered nearly 10% of New York’s natural gas consumption (according to 2021 levels). While the project received federal permits from agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission within two years, it failed to receive state-level permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. This hold-up led to years-long legal battles and regulatory uncertainty, which ultimately caused National Fuel to abandon and cancel the project in 2024.
Since 2013, project developers in North Dakota and Montana have been attempting to build a 420-mile-long transmission line that would connect the two states’ electricity grids. Known as the North Plains Connector Project, the project is expected to more than double the amount of electricity that can be transferred between Western and Eastern grids. Developers initially hoped it would be operational by the end of the 2020s, but they have yet to obtain certain federal and state-level permits. It is now anticipated to be completed by 2032, a three-year delay.
IONIC MINERAL TECHNOLOGIES TALKS GEARING UP PRODUCTION: After announcing a significant high-grade mineral discovery in Utah last month, Ionic Mineral Technologies is now gearing up to scale production this year.
In December, the company discovered several high-grade minerals, including lithium, alumina, germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium, niobium, and several rare earths, at its Silicon Ridge project in Utah. The discovery may have made it one of the nation’s largest reserves of critical minerals.
Andre Zeitoun, the founder and CEO of Ionic Mineral Technologies, told Maydeen that it is “incredibly rare” to find this type of high-grade deposit of rare earth and critical minerals, adding that when they first saw it, “we thought maybe there was a mistake with our machine.”
The minerals are found in halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay. According to the company, it is the same geological formation that supplies about 35% to 40% of China’s total rare-earth production and over 70% of the world’s heavy rare-earth elements. Zeitoun said that extracting minerals from clay is less energy-intensive and less costly than hard rock mining.
The company plans to start mining in June or July of this year. He added that the project is fully permitted, with full state support and infrastructure, and can scale up the downstream separation, enabling it to get to market quicker.
He also noted that the company is now open to partnerships to fully develop its deposit, adding that it recently hired Citigroup to process strategic partnerships.
“We’re currently looking for anything that makes sense that will help bring these materials to the market as quickly as possible to address this critical need,” Zeitoun said.
Ionic Mineral Technologies’ discovery occurs as the Trump administration seeks to expand the domestic supply of critical minerals and rare earths to reduce U.S. reliance on China. The administration has gone so far as to partner with and take direct stakes in mineral companies to help expand production.
“I think what the government’s really looking at is not necessarily to be an investor in all these things,” Zeitoun said. “They just want the metals. They’re taking companies that actually have a viable project that can come online soon.”
REVENUES FROM TRUMP’S FIRST SALE OF VENEZUELAN OIL: An administration official has confirmed to Semafor that the Trump administration brought in roughly $500 million for its first sale of Venezuelan oil.
The proceeds from the sale are currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the U.S. government, according to the official. A second senior administration official told the outlet that the main account holding the funds is located in Qatar.
Last week, the Department of Energy laid out the administration’s plans for handling these funds, saying they would be disbursed for the benefit of the American and Venezuelan people “at the discretion of the U.S. government.” The Trump administration plans to market and sell Venezuelan crude in the global marketplace indefinitely.
BURGUM’S ‘NEW INTERIOR’: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is leaning into the president’s Greenland push in a recent post depicting the “New Interior” stretching to Greenland.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Greenland is “vital” for the Golden Dome missile defense system, arguing that the U.S. possession of the territory is essential for national security. He argued that NATO should help the U.S. take Greenland, warning that if not, Russia or China will.
Burgum reposted the tweet with a photo, the headline reading “The New Interior,” and planes flying from Washington, D.C., to Anchorage, Alaska, and Nuuk, Greenland. Trump has continued to press Denmark to hand over Greenland, citing national security concerns, especially after the U.S. captured the former Venezuelan president.
In addition, Greenland holds strategic resources, including critical minerals, which the administration has been seeking to acquire. A 2023 survey found that Greenland contains about 25 of the 34 minerals categorized as critical raw materials by the European Commission.
OFFSHORE WIND BOOSTED IN UNITED KINGDOM AUCTION: Despite a wave of uncertainty sweeping through the global offshore wind industry, developers got a boost today after the United Kingdom awarded a record amount of contracts to build out the renewable resource.
The details: The U.K. government announced earlier today that it awarded “contracts for difference” to a total of 8.2 gigawatts worth of fixed-bottom offshore wind projects, as well as 192 megawatts for floating offshore wind projects.
This is the latest effort from the U.K. to build out at least 43 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. The U.K. has a current capacity of offshore wind of around 16.6 gigwatts, with an additional 11.7 gigwatts under construction.
One gigawatt of energy generated by offshore wind in the U.K. is estimated to be equivalent to the amount of power needed for 1 million homes.
Some reaction: While clean energy advocates have touted the auction as a win for the government’s efforts to decarbonize its energy sector, some lawmakers have pointed out that the contracts were awarded with higher prices than last year. For the traditional projects, meaning fixed to the seabed – the projects were awarded an average fixed price of nearly £91 ($122) per megawatt-hour of electricity generated. In last year’s auction, it was £82 ($110) per megawatt-hour.
Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho told the Financial Times that the auction would result in “the highest offshore wind price in a decade.” She warned that Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband was cementing “uncompetitive electricity prices” for the industry.
TRUMP JUDGE RESERVES JUDGMENT OVER EMPIRE WIND: Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court in Washington declined to issue an immediate ruling over the second pausing of the Empire Wind project off the coast of New York today.
Nichols, who was nominated by Trump in his first term, did say he would issue a ruling soon as to whether the project can continue construction. The case came just two days after the paused Revolution Wind project in Rhode Island was permitted to resume, giving the offshore wind industry hope that the courts would continue to rule in their favor throughout the week. Nichols’ delay, however, indicates that it may not be as clean-cut as the industry would like.
Quick reminder: In December, the Interior Department temporarily suspended the leases for five offshore wind projects, including Empire Wind and Revolution Wind. This was the second time the agency targeted those two specific projects, after previously blocking construction through stop-work orders. Those orders were lifted last year but the agency halted construction again last month on national security grounds.
What’s at risk: Empire Wind, located roughly 20 miles off the coast of Long Island, is around 60% complete. It is expected to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes and could start operations as early as October. However, if the pause remains in place this week, the company warned it could be forced to terminate the $5.5 billion project, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters.
ICYMI – HOUSE PASSES SHOWER ACT: House lawmakers yesterday evening passed a bill that would ease limitations on showerhead water flow.
The House voted 226-197 to pass the SHOWER Act, which was sponsored by Republican Rep. Russell Fry of South Carolina. The bill would codify Trump’s executive order meant to soften federal rules limiting the flow of water through showerheads.
The president has claimed that the previous standards caused a lack of sufficient water flow and made it difficult to maintain his hair. Specifically, Fry’s bill would clarify that each nozzle in a multihead shower system is an individual showerhead that may operate at up to 2.5 gallons of water per minute. The bill would also prevent future reinterpretations of the standards.
Following the passing of his bill, Fry tweeted, “Washington has no business micromanaging how Americans live in their own homes—especially their showers.”
Read more by Maydeen here.
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