WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! If you need a break from the news this week and want to tune into some of the winter Olympics, we recommend checking out the daily viewing guides from sports journalist Mitch Goldich on X. He has everything you need to track U.S. medal events! 🏅⛷️🥌
Coal’s comeback is back on the schedule at the White House, as the president is expected to sign an executive order later this afternoon ordering the Department of War to sign power purchase agreements to coal power plants. Stay tuned for more of our coverage.
Plus, Energy Secretary Chris Wright touched down in Venezuela this morning, where he’ll be for the rest of the week. Stick with Daily on Energy as we provide you the latest updates throughout his trip.
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.
COMING UP…WHITE HOUSE CHAMPIONS COAL COMEBACK: President Donald Trump will sign an executive order bolstering the coal industry later this afternoon, committing the federal government to agreements for purchasing electricity generated by coal.
The details: Trump is expected to be joined by cabinet members, including Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, for the signing, which is the latest effort from the administration to advocate for what it calls “clean coal.”
The order will direct the Department of War to enter agreements to purchase electricity from coal power plants to support U.S. military operations. These are expected to be long-term agreements.
During this afternoon’s event, Trump is also expected to announce that the Department of Energy will be awarding funds to five coal plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Kentucky to upgrade their facilities. This funding is likely to come from the agency’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, formerly known as the Loan Programs Office.
The event is scheduled to begin around 4 p.m. EST.
The pushback: The order was vehemently criticized by environmentalists and climate advocates ahead of the event, with Environmental Defense Fund’s director and lead counsel on clean energy Ted Kelly calling it an “absurd misuse of public funds” that will cause increased air pollution and higher electricity bills. Kelly pointed to an independent analysis conducted by Grid Strategies that found that the continued operation of coal plants scheduled to retire could cost consumers more than $3 billion a year.
Earlier this year, two utilities also pushed back on the administration’s efforts to keep the Craig Generating Station’s unit one in Colorado open, warning high costs associated with running the aging coal plant could be borne by consumers.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright dismissed those concerns last week, telling Callie during a press conference that “far larger costs come from blackouts.”
Plant extensions: The event comes just hours after the Tennessee Valley Authority voted in favor of keeping two coal power plants, Cumberland and Kingston, online. Both facilities were scheduled to close in the coming years, with units expected to shut down as soon as this year.
The Cumberland coal plant was expected to see one unit retire in 2026 and another in 2028. The Kingston facility was set to retire in 2027.
“Coal has been a backbone in TVA’s balanced portfolio for decades, and the Board’s authorization to continue operations at the plants ensures the important role they’ll play in the future,” TVA president and CEO Don Moul said in a statement.
WRIGHT LANDS IN VENEZUELA: Late this morning, Wright landed in Venezuela, where he is expected to remain for the rest of the week. His visit marks the first trip from a high-level administration official to the South American country following the capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The details: Wright landed in Caracas around 10:30 am EST, where he was greeted by U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Venezuela, Laura Dogu. In a post to X, Dogu described Wright’s visit as “key” to advancing the president’s vision for the country.
“The U.S. private sector will be essential to boost the oil sector, modernize the electric grid, and unlock Venezuela’s enormous potential,” Dogu added.
Wright is expected to be in Venezuela through Friday, meeting with local consumer goods companies and visiting oil fields and drilling operations. Ahead of his trip, Reuters reported that the secretary would be visiting Petropiar, the largest oil project in Venezuela, co-operated by Chevron and state-owned energy firm PDVSA.
He is also expected to hold meetings with government officials, and by early afternoon photos from the Associated Press showed Wright meeting with acting president Delcy Rodriguez.
Daily on Energy will be following the remainder of his visit this week, so stay tuned for more.
Plus, more administration moves to clear drilling pathway: Wright’s arrival in Venezuela comes just one day after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control confirmed to Politico that it was issuing a general license allowing U.S. companies to upgrade and utilize existing oil drills, pipelines and other assets in the region.
The license specifically authorizes transactions for the maintenance of oil and gas operations in Venezuela, such as refurbishment or repair of exploration, development, or production facilities.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO APPEAL COURT WIND LOSSES: The Trump administration is preparing to appeal the sweeping losses in court it has seen this year so far in its attempts to block under-construction offshore wind farms.
The details: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum confirmed this morning that the administration would be appealing the court rulings, telling Bloomberg Television, “Absolutely we are…there will be further discussion on this.”
He went on to claim that the administration’s crackdown on the industry is not an “ideological attack,” rather a “real, genuine concern” of national security risks. He claimed the offshore wind farms pose a threat as they could cause radar interference.
Interior attempted to stall five under construction projects along the East Coast, some of which are expected to begin pumping power into the electrical grids this year, by pausing their offshore leases. All five projects challenged the pause in court and were granted permission to restart construction after the judges said the government failed to provide reasonable and just evidence.
HOUSE BILL TO ADDRESS CRITICAL MINERAL SUPPLY CHAIN WEAKNESSES: House lawmakers will vote this evening to consider a bill that would order the Department of Energy to conduct ongoing assessments and address vulnerabilities in the critical mineral supply chain.
Lawmakers will vote on Republican Michigan Rep. John James’s bill, the Securing America’s Critical Mineral Supply Act. The bill directs the DOE to evaluate weaknesses in the domestic critical mineral supply chain and address it by diversifying sources, boosting domestic production, developing alternatives, and advancing recycling technology.
It would also redefine the term “critical energy resource” to include any energy resource essential to the domestic energy system.
House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Connecticut argued that redefining the term “critical energy resource” to mean any energy resource key to the system is a “gift to the fossil fuel industry,” because it could include carbon-emitting sources.
For the past several months, lawmakers from both parties have proposed bills aimed at tackling the United States’ dependence on Chinese-critical minerals, with many raising national security concerns.
ENERGY STAFFING CUTS THREATEN AGENCY’S OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS, GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG SAYS: A decrease in workforce at the Energy Department has made it unclear how it will meet its statutory requirements at its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).
The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report which found that there have been significant changes at OCED in 2025 affecting workforce and contract support, leading to uncertainty on how the office will manage its projects. GAO said the office lost about 85% of its staff, going from 285 to 40 employees between January and June 2025. OCED has also issued a stop-work order on almost all contracts supporting the office.
The OCED was established in 2021 to manage funding to DOE for demonstration projects, including clean energy technologies like hydrogen and advanced nuclear energy.
“The office is unlikely to be able to conduct in-depth project reviews at key oversight decision points…” GAO wrote.
It added that an OCED official said the office will likely move some aspects of OCED’s oversight to other offices in the agency. For instance, the Office of Project Management agreed to conduct independent assessments, but GAO said it has lost about 60% of its staff.
GAO said, “Without a plan to meet the statutory requirements of managing projects and assessing lessons learned, DOE faces increased risks of not having the capacity to manage and oversee billions of dollars of federal funding for demonstration projects.”
TOTALENERGIES MAY BE FORCED TO END RUSSIAN GAS EXPORTS: The European Union’s pressure campaign on Moscow and its energy revenue stream may force one oil and gas major to halt all its exports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
The details: French energy firm TotalEnergies confirmed earlier today that the EU’s upcoming ban on imports of Russian LNG could cease all shipments from its facility in Siberia, according to the Financial Times.
“We’ll no longer be able to market the Yamal LNG to Europe, and maybe beyond Europe,” CEO Patrick Pouyanné told reporters.
Previously, the oil major planned to divert its shipments of Russian LNG to other countries outside of the EU – such as those within Asia – in order to avoid shutting down its Russian assets. Pouyanné explained that there are still “ambiguities” surrounding the implementation of the gas ban set to take effect in the next two years.
The ban will go into effect by the end of 2026 for Russian LNG and the end of September 2027 for pipeline gas. The agreement does allow the pipeline gas deadline to be delayed until Nov. 1, 2027, if a country is unable to fill its storage systems with non-Russian supplies before the 2027-2028 winter season.
Pouyanné told reporters that TotalEnergies is still looking for clarification as to whether the ban will only apply to imports going to Europe or to any European company doing any form of business with Moscow.
ICYMI – DOT EV CHARGING PROGRAM: The Transportation Department yesterday proposed a new rule requiring federally funded electric vehicle charging stations to be solely American-made.
The Transportation Department’s proposal would expand the American content manufacturing requirements for EV charging stations from 55% to 100%. The proposal would still need to undergo the rulemaking process, which includes a public comment period.
In 2023, the Biden administration waived some of the domestic content requirements as a way to accelerate the build-out of EV charging stations. However, the Trump administration has attempted to halt funding from the Biden administration EV charging program – the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program or NEVI.
A federal judge last month ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to suspend funding awarded to states to expand EV charging stations was unlawful.
Reactions: Zero Emission Transportation Association executive director Albert Gore said in a statement that, “As with other industries, the supply chain for EV charging infrastructure is complex and requires sourcing diversification. While Buy America requirements may encourage the growth of a domestic supply chain and manufacturing base over time, a sudden change in policy can undermine the hard work and investments made to date.”
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