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.

LATEST ON OIL AND IRAN: Hostilities in the Middle East flared again today, as Iran launched one of its most damaging drone and missile strikes in recent weeks against Kuwait and Bahrain, prompting another round of retaliatory strikes from the U.S. 

While the White House has promised an imminent deal with Iran, traders appear to be growing less confident of there being a ceasefire. 

The clash pushed crude oil prices upward today, with international and domestic benchmarks inching back to the high $90s. Just before 3 p.m. EDT, Brent crude was up 2.28% and priced at $98.19 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate also jumped 2.81% and was selling at $96.39 a barrel. 

The Trump administration appears to be doing damage control for an extended closure of the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the ongoing conflict is leading to Gulf nations developing alternative routes to resume normal energy flows. 

“I think you’re going to see the establishment of more of these alternative routes as a result of this,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress today. 

He said that while only 20% of global oil goes through the narrow waterway, roughly 80 to 85% of that travels to the Indo-Pacific. As a result, he noted, the war has given the U.S. an opportunity to increase its supply to that region.

“In those particular countries, I think you’re going to most definitely see them buying more from other places, including the United States, and it’s going to lower the cost for everybody.”  

SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK PUSH TO STOP TRUMP’S SOFTENING OF AIR TOXICS REGULATIONS: Moments ago, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on whether to cancel a rule introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency in February, which softened air toxics regulations for coal-fired power plants. The resolution of disapproval was introduced by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in April. The Rhode Island senator introduced the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to bypass a filibuster and vote in a simple majority to repeal a rule. 

In a 53-46 vote, the Senate voted against proceeding with a formal vote on the rule. 

Quick reminder: In February, the EPA said it had finalized a rule to weaken restrictions on hazardous pollutants, such as mercury, for coal-fired power plants. 

The agency is specifically softening the Biden administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which impose a 67% reduction in toxic metal emissions and a 70% cut in mercury emissions from lignite-fired sources. The administration has claimed the rollback would save companies nearly $670 million between 2028 and 2037. 

DATA CENTERS HAVE NATION-SIZED ELECTRICITY FOOTPRINT, UNITED NATIONS SAYS: A new report released by United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health has found that global data centers are consuming as much as, if not more, electricity than dozens of countries across the world. 

The report, released today, estimates that global data centers consumed 448 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025. If a single country used that much electricity, it would have ranked 11th globally for highest consumption. The authors also found that energy consumed by data centers last year was enough to supply the annual electricity needs for the entire residential population of Sub-Saharan Africa for over two and a half years. 

The report estimated that this electricity use will more than double by the end of the decade, potentially exceeding 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. This would account for almost 3% of projected global electricity use. And if treated as a country, data centers would rank 6th for highest electricity consumption. 

You can read the full report here. 

NORTH CAROLINA DATA CENTER GUARDRAIL BILL ADVANCES: The North Carolina House of Representatives is slated to vote today on legislation that would set new rules for data center development. 

The legislation would ban local incentives for data centers. It would also mandate that they pay the incremental costs of upgrading transmission lines and the grid, addressing a key worry of data center opponents, namely that they might jack up electricity bills. The legislation also includes rules related to water use, noise, and foreign ownership. 

Key quote: “We’re not saying don’t come. We’re putting guardrails on the development of these in response to the consumer outrage about this,” Rep. Dean Arp, a Republican, said in committee, according to Axios. 

EUROPE TO SET ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR DATA CENTERS: The European Union is moving to set energy-efficiency standards for new and existing data centers, in order to ease the economic strain on consumers. 

The European Commission announced today that it would be developing the performance standards for energy use, water use, waste heat reuse, and more, and would have a “needs assessment” completed by 2027. 

The commission said the standards would increase transparency around data center deployment in the bloc, promote sustainability, and optimize energy and water consumption. 

In the EU, data centers make up around 2.5% of electricity consumption. Officials have warned that share will rapidly grow, with installed capacity expected to more than double to 28 gigawatts by 2030. Last year, installed data center capacity in the EU was around 12 gigawatts. 

The commission warned today that this rapid demand, if not proactively managed, could undermine “the security and sustainability of the energy supply,” and drive up electricity prices. 

“If not tackled at EU level now, these challenges could grow considerably and become harder to solve in the coming years, as the energy consumption of the sector is expected to increase further,” the commission said. 

The proposal for data center standards is a part of the EU’s broader roadmap to support digitization and artificial intelligence in the bloc’s energy system. You can find the full roadmap here. 

FEDERAL REGULATORS CLEAR WAY FOR THREE MILE ISLAND RESTART: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a waiver this week accelerating Constellation Energy’s efforts to bring the Crane Clean Energy Center – formerly Three Mile Island – back online and connected to the grid. 

The details: The waiver granted by FERC specifically allows Constellation Energy to transfer grid connection rights from its Eddystone natural gas-fired power plant to the nuclear facility. The Eddystone plant is located outside of Philadelphia and was originally slated to close in May of last year. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly issued emergency orders to keep the facility open. The most recent order issued last month keeps the plant open through most of August. 

Constellation first submitted the request for the waiver in March, after PJM Interconnection said the facility would likely not be able to connect to the grid until 2031 due to transmission upgrades. This would have delayed the restart by four years, as Constellation plans to have the facility ready to go by 2027. 

The utility has said the waiver puts it back on track for hitting that 2027 target, generating more than 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy. 

Callie toured the Crane Clean Energy Center last year. You can find photos from inside here. 

UKRAINE HITS ST. PETERSBURG OIL TERMINAL: President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukrainian drones hit the St. Petersburg oil terminal, nearly 700 miles from the Ukrainian border. 

The attack took place just hours before the opening of an economic forum hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Ukraine has increasingly carried out long-range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent days and weeks. 

HOOVER DAM GETS 300-FOOT AMERICAN FLAG: The states of Arizona and Nevada have joined with the Bureau of Reclamation to drape a 300-foot American flag down the Hoover Dam and illuminate it with LED lights. 

The display is scheduled to run through Independence Day, the Los Angeles Times reports. Meanwhile, water levels have gotten low enough in Lake Mead to threaten the dam’s ability to produce hydropower. 

HOUSTON INTERSTATES SHAPE CLOUD FORMATIONS: Heat from Houston’s highways combined with unusual weather to create cloud formations that neatly lined up with the interstates, the Washington Post reports. 

Atmospheric moisture was near record levels. Warm air rose above the highways, and the humidity allowed it to condense into cumulus clouds. You can see it here. 

ICYMI – HOUSE PASSES GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PACKAGE: Yesterday afternoon, the House approved a legislative package made up of parts of several Republican- and Democratic-authored bills aimed at accelerating approvals for geothermal projects. 

The details: The Geothermal Energy Advancement Act passed in a voice vote Tuesday afternoon, a significant show of bipartisanship focused on bolstering domestic energy development ahead of the midterm elections, as surging energy and electricity prices are quickly becoming a key issue for voters across the country. 

“I appreciate my colleagues across the aisle who worked with us to pass this bill. At a time of extreme political polarization, this package shows that Congress can still come together on commonsense solutions to better the lives of the American people,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said in a statement following the bill’s passage. 

The bill included a provision from legislation she previously introduced that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to collect fees from energy companies and geothermal leaseholders, which would then be used to cover the cost of processing project applications and monitoring activities related to geothermal exploration and development. 

You can read more about the bill from Callie here. 

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