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WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! Permitting reform continued to dominate discussions at National Clean Energy Week here in the District. Keep reading to find out what some lawmakers and industry groups like the National Ocean Industries Association have to say about the ongoing debate.
President Donald Trump is on his way back from the United Kingdom, where he renewed the administration’s push for Europe to end all purchases of Russian oil.
Plus, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is back after an August break, with Commissioner David Rosner holding his first open meeting as chairman.
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.
TRUMP ESCALATES CALL FOR EUROPE TO STOP BUYING RUSSIAN OIL: The Trump administration is continuing to call on European allies to halt all imports of Russian oil, with the president himself driving the push.
The details: Following his meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier today, President Donald Trump indicated that stronger sanctions against Russia depend on European cooperation. The president projected confidence that if Russian oil exports drop and the cost of crude falls substantially, Russia will end its war in Ukraine.
“I’m willing to do other things, but not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia,” Trump said.
Some background: While the European Union has halted much of its purchases of Russian energy since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, a small number of countries, including Hungary and Slovakia, have continued to import crude. Both nations have expressed opposition to the EU’s proposed plan to phase out Russian oil by 2028. Meanwhile, other EU member countries, such as Poland, have urged for that timeline to be accelerated.
The U.S. has pitched replacing Russian oil with increased imports of U.S.-produced oil and natural gas, building upon the trade deal made with the EU over the summer. But the administration has indicated that the deal may be under threat from EU climate and methane regulations.
EXXON DOUBTS EU WILL CAVE TO U.S. ESG DEMANDS: While the Trump administration has continued to pressure the EU to soften its border climate regulations, at least one major energy exporter in the U.S. is doubtful Europe will cave to the demands.
The details: ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Semafor this week that he is “pessimistic” that the Trump administration will be successful in creating carveouts for the fossil fuel industry in Europe’s methane and greenhouse gas emissions standards set to go into effect in the coming years. Starting in 2027, the EU will be requiring foreign oil and gas producers to monitor and report methane emissions associated with their imports into the bloc.
Fossil fuel majors like Exxon have pushed back against the regulations, saying they will negatively affect U.S. based producers and potentially limit exports to Europe.
While U.S. officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have indicated the major trade deal with Europe might hinge on softening these rules, Woods told Semafor that the industry hasn’t “seen the response from European leaders we’d like to see.”
FERC TAKES STEPS TO SUPPORT DATA CENTER BUILDOUT: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has launched an effort to improve tools for load forecasting across the grid, particularly as power-hungry facilities like data centers are set to drive soaring electricity demand.
The details: Ahead of FERC’s monthly meeting this morning, chairman David Rosner sent a letter to the six major regional transmission operators and independent system operators across the country, excluding Texas’ ERCOT. Rosner called load forecasting a critical yet often “overlooked” tool for managing energy demand growth and said that improving forecasts can impact “billions of dollars in investments” and electricity bills.
“Put simply, we cannot efficiently plan the electric generation and transmission needed to serve new customers if we don’t forecast how much energy they will need as accurately as possible,” he said.
Rosner primarily focused on load growth for facilities like data centers supporting artificial intelligence advancements. In order to support these data centers, and ensure there is enough energy on the grid to power the facilities, Rosner has asked the RTOs and ISOs to assess their existing load forecasting tools.
He later told members of the press that FERC is not asking any state or region to do anything differently. Instead, the commission wants to assess how to best meet the challenge of building out data centers to win the AI race while keeping grid reliability.
PLUS, ADMIN MOVES TO ACCELERATE LARGE SCALE GRID PROJECTS: The Department of Energy is also taking steps to support the buildout of AI data centers, by ensuring there is enough grid infrastructure to provide the large-load facilities with the power they need.
The details: Earlier today, DOE announced its “Speed to Power initiative,” aimed at accelerating the development of large-scale grid infrastructure projects such as transmission lines and new generation.
DOE is currently requesting information from stakeholders, utilities, and industry experts on how to best utilize its funding programs and authorities to rapidly expand generation and transmission capacity in order to support demand from these facilities. The agency is accepting suggestions and remarks until Nov. 21.
PERMITTING REFORM A BIPARTISAN PRIORITY: As lawmakers work to reach a consensus on permitting reform necessary to meet fast-growing energy demand, two Republican congressmen stressed the importance of bipartisan collaboration.
Republicans Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio and Sen. John Curtis of Utah told Maydeen on the sidelines of National Clean Energy Week that permitting reform is a priority for both sides of the political aisle, and it is essential for lawmakers to work together.
"We want to work with our friends on the other side of the aisle," Latta said. "It's not going to be a Republican bill. It won't be a Democrat bill. It seems to be a bill that we work on together to get this done."
Republicans in the House Natural Resources Committee have introduced three pieces of legislation to streamline the permitting process for infrastructure and energy projects.
However, Democrats have raised concerns that, even if all-of-the-above permitting reform passes, renewable energy projects may still encounter obstacles. The Trump administration and Republicans have slashed tax credits for renewable energy. The administration has also blocked wind energy projects from progressing.
Latta noted that members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have successfully collaborated on legislation in recent years.
"We're bidding on the Energy and Commerce Committee," he said. "We've put out more bipartisan bills than any other committee. We try to always work across the aisle."
Curtis also emphasized that there is a "strong motivation" on all sides and in both chambers.
But he said that "we're still falling short of really defining what permitting reform is, and finding some consensus on some pretty big issues. I think transmission is probably the biggest."
Transmission is essential for increasing energy as new generation cannot be used if there isn’t infrastructure to deliver it. Currently, the permitting system causes delays in building transmission lines across multiple states and jurisdictions.
"Everybody wants to do [permitting reform], but everybody's kind of got a different definition of what it is," he added.
PLUS, INDUSTRY GROUP ADVOCATES FOR TECH-NEUTRAL REFORM: No matter where permitting discussions land, they must encompass all types of energy, the National Ocean Industries Association is arguing.
The details: NOIA, an offshore energy industry group that advocates for both fossil fuel and wind energy projects, wants to see regulatory certainty across the board for future projects, else risk losing foreign investment in the U.S.
“We just need to get everybody to that point to understand that we got to stop with contempt for any particular energy source [and] understand that our country uses a comprehensive system of energy, and all slices of the pie need to be boosted through this legislative reform that we want,” NOIA president Erik Milito told Callie on the sidelines of National Clean Energy Week.
Milito said NOIA is supportive of the permitting bills before Congress right now, particularly as they include “agnostic” language toward energy sources and technology. This includes the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman.
Milito emphasized that any reforms passed should apply to any business and ensure their projects are not at risk of having federal approvals rescinded just because a new administration is in power. As a result, meaningful technology-neutral permitting reform could likely force the Trump administration to pull back on its offshore wind crackdown.
“It would be a compromise, of course, but maybe can be framed in a way that doesn't seem like anybody's losing anything, everybody's gaining,” Milito said.
EU TO MISS UN CLIMATE DEADLINE: Climate ministers with the EU confirmed today that the bloc is set to miss the latest deadline set by the United Nations for setting new emissions reductions targets.
The targets, mandated under the 2016 Paris Agreement, are expected to be submitted to the U.N. by the end of the month. Many had hoped the targets would be agreed upon before the deadline and presented at the U.N. General Assembly next week. The EU is now only expected to bring an outline of its emissions reductions goals for 2025, but no finalized numbers.
EU climate ministers were expected to submit a “statement of intent” to the U.N. on Thursday, detailing this outline. The statement, obtained by Reuters, reportedly calls for emissions reductions of between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035. It also reportedly promises to submit the final target before COP30 in Brazil later this year.
SCIENTISTS SAY GREENHOUSE GASES ARE DANGEROUS TO PUBLIC HEALTH: Top scientists found that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to the nation's public health and welfare, as part of an assessment following the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding.
The National Academies released a report yesterday examining the evidence collected by the scientific community since 2009 to assess dangers linked to pollutants to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency has the necessary evidence as they look to repeal the finding.
“Climate change intensifies risks to humans from exposures to extreme heat, ground-level ozone, airborne particulate matter, extreme weather events, and airborne allergens, affecting incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory, and other diseases,” the report reads.
RUNDOWN
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