WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! Be sure to look to the skies today, as the active Orionid Meteor Shower peaks tonight into tomorrow morning. 💫💫💫 The nearly full moon might make it hard to see the fireballs streaking across the sky, but meteorologists are saying much of the United States should have “good” viewing conditions for the show. Find how conditions will be where you live here.
Plus, your Daily on Energy hosts are running a little poll this week to gauge what you, dear readers, think about if or when Congress will be able to pass the Senate’s bipartisan permitting legislation introduced last month. 🧐🏛️ You can vote in our survey here.
Recommended Stories
- 🗳️🤖 With the midterm elections less than two weeks away, Maydeen took a look at ballot measures to rein in data center development. Read more below ⬇️
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.
VOTERS TO WEIGH DATA CENTERS AT THE BALLOT BOX:
In less than two weeks, voters in 10 states will have the opportunity to restrict data center development.
According to Ballotpedia, there are 41 local ballot measures that would place moratoriums, bans, or other restrictions on data center development.
Three other measures would temporarily pause data center development.
For instance, the city of Bloomington, Illinois, will vote on an initiative to advise the city to impose a moratorium on large-scale data centers. Residents in York County, Maine, will decide on whether to impose a 180-day ban on data centers. Similarly, voters in Wiscasset, Maine, will decide whether to set a six-month moratorium on new or expanded data center projects.
Moratoriums have become popular among local governments and officials as a way to slow down development to provide time to set guardrails on the projects.
Yet, there is one state that is outpacing all the others in the number of ballot measures related to data centers: Ohio.
Jurisdictions in Ohio have 21 measures on the ballot that address data centers, with five of those measures outright banning them.
Data centers have become a top political consideration in Ohio.
They have played a crucial role in the Senate race between former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Both candidates have not expressed support for outright bans of data centers, but have called for new regulations.
Maydeen broke down some of this year’s data center ballot measures here.
More on data centers … Amid the growing public backlash against data centers, the Trump administration has continued to champion their rapid expansion.
However, President Donald Trump overnight called on data center developers to pay and supply their own energy and invest in the communities they are building in.
“New and large, in some cases gigantic, Data Centers are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid, and therefore there is electric price increase,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a “dividend.” I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck. MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!! GREAT FOR THE U.S.A.” he added.
All the rest:
COULD THE ADMINISTRATION TANK PERMITTING? The Trump administration is escalating its crusade against offshore wind development, asking a federal court to remand a permit for yet another wind farm.
Late last night, the Justice Department said in a court filing that it is seeking to reconsider the agency’s past approval for the New England Wind Project’s construction and operation plan. This wind farm is not yet under construction, but is expected to be built off the coast of Massachusetts with a total capacity of more than 2.6 gigawatts of energy, enough to power more than 900,000 homes every year.
This marks the fourth offshore wind project targeted by the administration through the courts in the last few weeks. This renewed push to halt projects, even those already under construction or generating power, threatens the Senate’s bipartisan permitting deal that is set to be put to a vote next month.
“This is how you blow up a permitting deal,” key Democratic negotiator Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told Politico today.
The administration has defended the recent court filings, with an official telling Daily on Energy that the lawsuits in question were brought by neighborhood groups against the wind projects and government during the Biden administration.
“The government is required to respond on the court’s briefing schedules. Our filings defend the current government’s litigating position,” the administration official said. “We have been very transparent about the need for permitting reform and have also been transparent with Senator Whitehouse’s and Senator Heinrich’s teams on all these legal filings.”
One industry source with ties to the White House told Politico that the administration was attempting to gain leverage over Democrats on permitting reform through the recent push on wind.
However, the source reportedly said the moves have “blown up” in the administration’s face.
Quick reminder: The Justice Department has also requested to remand permits for Revolution Wind off the coast of Rhode Island, the Maryland Offshore Wind Project off the coast of Maryland, and Atlantic Shores off the coast of New Jersey.
KENTUCKY GOES NUCLEAR: Last year, Trump called for 10 large nuclear reactors to be under construction by 2030 as part of his administration’s efforts to accelerate the deployment of new nuclear power. One nuclear start-up is aiming to answer that call in Kentucky.
Earlier today, The Nuclear Company announced that it was planning to build a massive nuclear campus in Lewis County, Kentucky. The campus, called Prosperity One, would have the capacity to house six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, generating around 6.6 gigawatts of electricity.
If built, this project would be the largest nuclear power campus in the U.S., and one of the largest in the world. The Nuclear Company, which already has site control of about 4,000 acres for the project, aims to start construction by 2028.
JACKDAW GETS ITS GREEN LIGHT TO DRILL IN THE NORTH SEA: The Jackdaw gas field project has officially been granted approval from the United Kingdom government to move forward and start drilling in the North Sea.
U.K. Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Miatta Fahnbulleh approved the project earlier today, saying it would start supplying gas to homes and businesses by the end of the month.
Fahnbulleh said the project moved forward in large part due to the country’s energy crisis, which she said has been triggered by the conflict in the Middle East and has reinforced efforts to expand domestic energy production.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham also defended the decision, saying it is “consistent” with the country’s climate targets.
“The truth is, even with our ambitious net-zero goals, we will still need oil and gas for decades to come,” he said, adding that the government is taking a “pragmatic approach.”
He added that tax revenue from oil and gas projects such as Jackdaw will go toward developing new renewable energy resources.
Good to remember: For months, Burnham has faced calls from the Trump administration to completely open up the North Sea for new drilling. In 2024, the Labour government committed to not permitting any new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea, effectively banning new projects.
Trump praised the decision to advance Jackdaw, saying it is “great news for the wealth and prosperity” of the U.K., and specifically the Aberdeen region of Scotland. The Jackdaw gas field is roughly 150 miles east of Aberdeen, which is also home to a Trump International golf course.
Read more from Callie here.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TAPS HEATING OIL RESERVES TO LOWER PRICES: The Trump administration plans to utilize emergency reserves of diesel and fuel oil in New England to try to lower surging prices ahead of winter and the looming midterm elections.
As we explored in Daily on Energy last week, New England will be particularly squeezed by soaring oil and diesel prices this winter, with the cost of heating oil jumping by around 80% in Maine compared to last year.
To combat higher prices, the Department of Energy said this morning that it would be releasing up to 315,000 barrels of fuel oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve via an exchange. Under the terms of the release, borrowers must return the same amount of fuel oil plus a premium of new barrels to ensure the reserves are refilled before next winter.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the decision came after receiving letters from Maine Sens. Angus King, an independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican, and having “extensive discussions” with Collins. Wright described the move as a temporary solution to ongoing supply disruptions in the region.
Transfers or deliveries of the fuel oil are expected to be completed by Nov. 13.
RUSSIA PLANS TO SEND FIRST DIESEL SHIPMENT TO THE US THIS WEEK: Russia plans to send its first tanker with diesel to the U.S. on Thursday.
Russia has lifted its self-imposed ban on diesel exports after reaching a deal with Trump to supply the international markets with diesel.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said today the vessel will carry 40,000 metric tons of the fuel, Reuters reports. He did not name which port the cargo would be delivered to.
Novak noted that additional shipments will follow. The president has said that Russia would export 300,000 metric tons to the U.S. and global markets. Trump said the Kremlin would supply another 500,000 metric tons in November and another 1 million metric tons immediately after.
UN SAYS THE WORLD WILL EXCEED PARIS AGREEMENT WARMING LIMITS: The United Nations said that the world is on track to breach the international commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In a new report, the U.N. Environment Programme concluded that it is inevitable that global temperatures will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the target set in the 2015 agreement.
The report said the goal is now more modest, to return temperatures back to or below the 1.5-degree limit by the year 2100. However, in order to achieve this goal, greenhouse gas emissions must be cut 69% by 2040.
The report also noted that fewer countries are making enough progress to reach their 2030 national climate action plans, while climate targets for 2035 vary in ambition.
Read more by Maydeen here.
ICYMI – A NEW NATIONAL PARK ROCKS: The Chiricahua National Monument in southeast Arizona is officially a national park! Yesterday, Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act into law, redesignating the distinctive landscape.
The park is known for its towering rock formations that were formed by a volcanic eruption roughly 27 million years ago, according to the Interior Department.
The area had been protected as a national monument since 1924. Local officials are hopeful that redesignating Chiricahua as a national park will increase visitor numbers and create new economic opportunities through tourism.
You can find photos of the unique, rugged, and rock-filled park here.
RUNDOWN
Associated Press A First Nation community in Canada is using a data center to preserve its heritage
Canary Media New Mexico’s transition to clean energy is actually ahead of schedule
Latitude Media Critical Capital: Can nuclear seize on data center momentum?