WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon, readers – and happy May the 4th to all the Star Wars fans out there! ✨🌌
In today’s newsletter, we are keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s plan to help guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, as many have been stranded in the waterway since the war started in late February. 🚢 However, oil prices rose today as hostilities increased. 🛢️
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In other news, the administration moves to review the status of Rice’s whales to determine whether the species should be removed as an endangered species. 🐳 Keep reading to learn more.
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.
‘PROJECT FREEDOM’ AND THE LATEST EFFORT TO FREE UP THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: The big news from Iran today is President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new effort, dubbed “Project Freedom,” to allow ships trapped in the Persian Gulf to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The effort, though, has mostly had the opposite of its intended effect, as oil prices soared again today following Iran’s belligerent response to Trump and its claim that it attacked a U.S. warship.
The basic background: Trump said yesterday that the U.S. would “guide” commercial ships through the strait, starting Monday morning.
U.S. Central Command said that two U.S.-flagged merchant ships successfully transited the strait, as destroyers operated nearby.
Iran, though, pushed back, saying that it had fired warning shots at a U.S. warship and forced it to turn back. The U.S. denied the report, though. Iranian drones did strike the oil trading hub of Fujairah, UAE authorities said. A UAE tanker was also hit by two drones while transiting the strait, leading to condemnation of Iran by Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Prices up: Oil prices are up significantly today because of the threats to the ceasefire. International benchmark Brent crude was up more than 5% to above $113 as of the early afternoon. WTI was up more than 3% to above $105.
Bessent does the math: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used arithmetic to argue that Project Freedom will restore the supply lost over the past two months from the closure of the strait.
“The market, because of the conflict around the strait, is in deficit, about 10 million barrels a day,” Bessent said this morning. “So, every crude carrier that goes through has about 2 million barrels. So four or five crude carriers a day coming through — of the pent-up demand, we think there are more than 150- 200 crude carriers that can come out.”
Bessent also noted the UAE’s departure from OPEC, arguing it would add to supply. “I’m confident on the other side of this, the world’s going to be awash in oil,” he said.
Read more here.
ADMINISTRATION TAKES A LOOK AT THE ENDANGERMENT OF RICE’S WHALES: The Trump administration plans to review the status of Rice’s whales under the Endangered Species Act.
The National Marine Fisheries Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it will begin a status review of Rice’s whales to determine whether the species should be removed as an endangered species, according to a Federal Register filing.
The review comes a little over a month after the Endangered Species Committee voted to lift protections for endangered species in what is now called the Gulf of America to boost offshore oil and gas drilling. The committee, also known as the “God Squad,” has the authority to lift rules meant to prevent animals or plants from going extinct.
The administration has sought to expand oil and gas drilling by offering more lease sales and overturning regulations.
Environmentalists raised concerns about rolling back protections, stating they are necessary protections for Rice’s whales and other species in the region.
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates there are only 51 Rice’s whales living in the region. Environmentalists also warned that overturning protections could endanger more fish, rays, corals, and birds.
BROOKFIELD AND THE NUCLEAR COMPANY EYE SOUTH CAROLINA PLANT RESTART: Brookfield Asset Management and startup The Nuclear Company announced a joint venture to develop nuclear power today, with a special focus on reviving the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina.
The venture aims to use nuclear plant designs from Westinghouse, which is owned by Brookfield, and to capitalize on the $80 billion White House deal with Westinghouse, according to Bloomberg.
The V.C. Summer project was halted in 2017 after costs climbed out of control and Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy. It has two partially constructed AP1000 units.
JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIP ON ENERGY: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today to sign an agreement to strengthen their partnerships in energy, food, and critical minerals.
“The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been inflicting enormous impact on the Indo-Pacific,” Takaichi said, according to Al Jazeera.
Australia is one of Japan’s main suppliers of liquefied natural gas.
Asia has been significantly impacted by the war in Iran, as it imports a majority of its oil and natural gas from the Middle East.
“Like Japan, we are very concerned by disruptions to the supply of liquid fuels and refined petroleum products,” Albanese said.
DOJ SUES MINNESOTA OVER FOSSIL FUEL LAWSUIT: The Department of Justice filed a complaint today against Minnesota over the state’s efforts to hold fossil fuel companies liable for the harmful effects of climate change.
The background: Minnesota sued Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute in 2020, claiming that they deceived the public for decades about the cost of climate change.
The action: However, the DOJ said that only the federal government has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and the state’s action would harm domestic energy development.
“Minnesota’s attempt to impose a national regulation on global greenhouse gas emissions not only is preempted by federal law, but also undermines affordable and reliable American energy, weakening the national and economic security of the United States,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told Maydeen in a statement that he will move to have the DOJ’s efforts “dismissed immediately.”
Minnesota’s litigation against fossil fuel companies is part of a broader movement in which dozens of state and local governments have sued or enacted laws aimed at holding energy companies accountable for pollution.
The DOJ has previously attempted to block similar lawsuits brought by Hawaii and Michigan but has since failed.
Read more by Maydeen here.
WAVE POWER COMPANY AIMS TO DEPLOY DATA CENTER UNITS NEXT YEAR: The wave energy firm Panthalassa is aiming to deploy commercial units next year with a new round of funding that includes investors Peter Thiel and Marc Benioff, the Financial Times reports.
The start-up raised $140 million that will allow it to build up a pilot manufacturing facility for its nodes, which capture the energy in waves by bobbing up and down, and will be used to power onsite hermetically sealed data centers.
Thiel, the technologist and sometime GOP donor, told the publication that the “future demands more compute than we can imagine. Extraterrestrial solutions are no longer science fiction. Panthalassa has opened the ocean frontier.”
Panthalassa CEO Garth Sheldon-Coulson said that the company’s system, which are 85-meter-long steel structures that resemble steel lollipops, are preferable to tidal or wind energy facilities because they can be placed in remote areas and don’t need to be tethered to the ocean floor or mainland.
A LOOK AHEAD:
May 4 The Institute for Policy Integrity holds a webinar on the Supreme Court’s major question doctrine.
May 5 Happy Cinco de Mayo!
May 5 The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies holds a webinar on the administration’s reforms to environmental critical enforcement.
May 6 S&P Global Energy holds a webinar on energy chokepoints and restructuring of the global energy system
May 6-7 The Electric Power Research Institute holds an Energy and Climate Research Seminar
May 7 The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace holds a talk on the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown
May 10 Happy Mother’s Day! 💐
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News How We Tracked the Lithium Rush
The Associated Press States across the wildfire-prone Western US are using AI for early detection
Bloomberg Heat-Trapping Microplastics Found to Play Role in Climate Change
