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TRUMP READIES ‘MILITARY PLAN’ TO SAVE COAL POWER PLANTS: Offhanded remarks by President Trump during his speech Tuesday night in West Virginia are raising questions over what role the military will play in a coming plan to save coal power plants.

Trump said Tuesday night that the administration has “a military plan that’s going to be something very special” for coal, but White House officials are not explaining exactly what the role of the military might be.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pressing for answers on the plan and how it might be undermining the independence of federal electricity regulators.

What’s in the plan to save coal? Energy Secretary Rick Perry was directed by Trump last month to develop a list of policy options and legal authorities to save coal and nuclear power plants, which are being forced to close due to increased competition from natural gas and renewables. But Trump saying it is a “military plan” raises the question of whether the Department of Defense will be involved.

FERC chief of staff spills the beans: Earlier this month, Anthony Pugliese, the chief of staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said at an industry conference that the Department of Defense is part of a plan meant to ensure that energy resources are able to survive a military strike on the nation, or a severe weather event.

Echoing something similar, Trump told supporters Tuesday night that coal is an “indestructible” resource in times of war that is “very important” to the country.

White House offers no explanation: The White House did not respond to emails to explain what Trump’s “military plan” would entail. Nevertheless, Democrats have their own questions they want Kevin McIntyre, Trump’s FERC chairman, to answer.

Democrats launch letter campaign: Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrats on both the Senate and House energy committees, wrote McIntyre Wednesday to say that they are “deeply troubled” by Pugliese’s comments, calling what he described as “an ill-conceived plan to interfere with the operation of the nation’s wholesale electric markets.”

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ENERGY DEPARTMENT TEAMS UP WITH BILL GATES TO MOVE SMALL NUCLEAR REACTORS TO MARKET: The Energy Department late Wednesday tweeted out the details of an effort it is participating in with a major coal utility and a company founded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to develop small, jacuzzi-sized nuclear power reactors as less expensive and safer versions of their much larger cousins.

Shelved reactor design now getting renewed attention: “Molten salt reactors are getting a reboot,” the Energy Department tweeted, offering a schematic of the battery-like power plant modules that “could power America’s energy.”

Big coal is teaming teams up with big tech on nuclear: The agency linked to a detailed description of how its Oak Ridge National Laboratory is teaming up with Southern Company, a big coal utility with several nuclear plants, and Gates’ Terra Power to test and develop a type of reactor uses liquefied sodium “as both coolant and fuel,” according to the Energy Department.  

The power reactors are sometimes referred to as nuclear batteries because they are small, self-contained units, which theoretically can be deployed anywhere, although the version being tested at Oak Ridge appears to be one requiring a permanent structure and housing.

It has been a long-time coming for these reactors: Almost 60 years after the designs for this type of reactor were first unveiled, several companies are starting to develop them as energy systems of the future — including TerraPower, backed by Bill Gates,” the agency explained.

The Department of Energy has so far invested over $28 million in cost-shared funds for the project to identify and test materials used in the reactor.

Read John’s magazine feature to gain a more detailed understanding of what the reactors are and why they are getting renewed attention.

SAUDIS PUSHBACK AGAINST REPORTS THAT OIL COMPANY ABANDONED SELL-OFF PLAN: A Saudi top official is trying to beat back reports that the kingdom’s oil company, Saudi Aramco, has abandoned its plan to begin selling 5 percent of the company’s stock as part of a broader economic diversification plan.

“The government remains committed to the [initial public offer] of Saudi Aramco at a time of its own choosing when conditions are optimum,” said Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister and the company’s chairman, on Thursday.

Reading the tea leaves: It’s unclear whether Al-Falih is committed to making the public offering, or if Aramco is actually trying to push back the timeline because of recent improvements in the price in oil.

The plan to sell 5 percent of the largest energy company in the world is part of the oil-rich kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the country’s economy away from oil. The move to go public followed a crash in the price of oil two years ago, which cut the nation’s budget in half due to the losses in revenue.

Saudi sell-off may be less needed with higher oil prices: Selling shares of stock in Aramco, an unprecedented move, was a bold attempt to increase revenue in an uncertain energy market. However, actions by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut oil production over the last year have helped force the global price of oil upward.

The price of oil went from around $25 per barrel at its lowest point nearly three years ago, to nearly $80 per barrel this year. The Energy Information Administration expects the price to hold steady at around $70 per barrel going into 2019.

CHINA STOPS BUYING US COAL AHEAD OF TARIFFS: Chinese coal traders have stopped buying U.S. coal ahead of tariffs that go into effect on Thursday.

The Trump administration escalated its trade war with China, imposing 25 percent tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods just after midnight. In retaliation, China slapped 25 percent tariffs on an equal amount of American products, including coal, diesel and gasoline. Crude oil is not subject to tariffs.

China has been anticipating this move: Shanghai Runhei International, a major Chinese coal trading house, told Reuters it has no plans to import U.S. metallurgical coal used in steelmaking.

“We have completely stopped U.S. metallurgical coal (imports), which is popular among steel mills, in late July. There is too much uncertainty in trade,” the company said. Shanghai Runhei said it will increase purchases of domestic coal instead.

Potential harm for U.S. producers: China in recent years has been a bellwether for U.S. coal exports, especially of metallurgical coal, with the country accounting for roughly half of global steel consumption because of its aggressive urbanization and infrastructure investment.

U.S. coal mining jobs saw a 1 percent increase last year to more than 50,000, a response to increased demand from Asia, mostly China, for metallurgical coal, experts say.

SENATORS HAIL TRUMP’S SCIENCE ADVISER IN NOMINATION HEARING: Senators of both parties on Thursday morning hailed Trump’s nominee to be his first science director, Kelvin Droegemeier, an expert in extreme weather from the University of Oklahoma.

“There is no question to your qualifications,” Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said at Droegemeier’s confirmation hearing before the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “Your work on extreme weather is very important to the country. If confirmed, you have a tough task ahead of you, but a lot of us on the committee are going to be happy you are the White House science adviser.”

Science overcomes Trump’s politics: Trump had left the science and technology adviser position vacant for 19 months before nominating Droegemeier, providing fodder to critics who say his administration is downplaying science, especially as it relates to climate change.

But Droegemeier, a Republican, has bipartisan credentials to take the helm of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a White House agency that helps set policy on issues involving innovations in medical research, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence — and climate change. Supporters say he accepts established climate science.

“Science has no politics. Science is just science,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said Thursday. “He knows his stuff he will be doing a great job,” Lankford added of Droegemeier. “There is no one in America better qualified for this position.”

Advocate for climate research: Droegemeier served two six-year terms on the National Science Board, under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. A trained meteorologist, Droegemeier has also served as Oklahoma’s secretary of science and technology.

John Holdren, who served as science adviser under Obama, has applauded Droegemeier’s nomination telling Science Magazine that the nominee would be “energetic in defending the R&D budget and climate change research in particular.”

Droegemeier in his former roles has criticized efforts by congressional Republicans to cut funding for climate research.

“Science needs to be conducted free from political interference,” Droegemeier said Thursday. “The science has to lead the way in telling us what the facts are. My role is to make sure those scientific results unbiased are presented to the president and others for decision making and policy making,”

GREENS OPPOSE TRUMP’S EX-IM BANK CHIEF: The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday voted 25-0 in favor of Kimberly Reed to lead the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. export credit agency, which the group Friends of the Earth fears could be a move to subsidize fossil fuels abroad.

The bank still isn’t back to full operations: The Ex-Im Bank has been without a quorum for months. Reed’s confirmation would bring the bank a step closer to full operation, although another confirmation to the board would be needed for a quorum. The environmental group says restoring the bank to full operations would mean that billions of dollars in federal subsidies could potentially move to support up to 13 fossil fuel projects pending at the bank.

Those projects would ‘damage’ the climate: “There are serious concerns that Ex-Im under Reed will return to its past practice of supporting projects that damage the global climate, harm community health, violate human rights and hasten corruption,” said Kate DeAngelis, senior international policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, after the vote.

“If approved, Ex-Im’s fossil fuel projects will line the pockets of large U.S. corporations like General Electric and Exxon at taxpayers’ expense while destroying our planet.”

SENATE COMMITTEE DELAYS VOTE ON NOMINEE FOR ENERGY DEPARTMENT LAWYER: The August doldrums on Capitol Hill forced another casualty, as the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee announced it is delaying a vote scheduled for Thursday on Trump’s nominee to be the Energy Department’s top lawyer.

The committee does not have enough members present to hold the vote on William Cooper, Trump’s pick to be DOE’s general counsel. Cooper, if confirmed, would be keep in defending the Energy Department’s potential use of emergency powers to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.

The panel was also scheduled to vote on Lane Genatowski, Trump’s nominee to lead the Energy Department’s innovation and science research program. It did not announced a new date for the votes.

TOP SPOKESMAN FOR OIL GROUP LEAVING FOR ENERGY DEPARTMENT: Michael Tadeo, a top spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, is leaving the top oil and gas lobbying group to join the Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy.

Tadeo is joining the Energy Department as a senior adviser, a politically appointed job, he said Wednesday.

He spent two years at API, focused on issues such as pipeline development and increasing exports of liquified natural gas. Before joining API, Tadeo was deputy communications director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In his new role, he will help the Energy Department wing on research and development in fossil fuel technology, including carbon, capture and storage and power plant efficiency.

OIL EXPORTS EXCEED IMPORTS FOR FIRST TIME ALONG TEXAS GULF COAST: Oil exports from the Texas Gulf Coast exceeded imports for the first time, according to new data released by the Energy Information Administration.

In April, oil exports in the Houston-Galveston port district exceeded imports by 15,000 barrels a day, and in May, that difference grew to 470,000 barrels a day.

Most of the oil imported to the U.S. goes through midwest or the Gulf Coast. The U.S. port district of Houston-Galveston accounted for 12 percent of total American crude oil imports as of May, with most of it coming from Mexico, South America, and the Middle East.

Oil exports from the Gulf Coast mostly go to China, Italy, Canada, and Britain.

EPA CHANGES LOCATIONS FOR HEARINGS ON FUEL EFFICIENCY RULE: The Environmental Protection Agency is changing its plans for public hearings on its proposal to relax Obama-era fuel efficiency rules for vehicles.

EPA canceled hearings scheduled to take place in Washington D.C., Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Instead, the agency plans to host hearings in Fresno, Calif., Dearborn, Mich., and Pittsburgh, Pa. They will occur on Sept. 24-26, according to a federal register posting on Wednesday.

EPA on Aug. 2 proposed a rule freezing Obama administration fuel standards that would have increased year-over-year. California has led a group of states suing over the proposal, to keep their right to enforce tougher standards to combat air pollution and climate change.

FORD RECALLS ELECTRIC CAR CABLES DUE TO FIRE RISK: American carmaker Ford is recalling charging cords for more than 50,000 plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles because they could cause fires in power outlets, the Associated Press reported.

Ford said Wednesday that plugging the cords into outlets that aren’t on a dedicated circuit or are on damaged or corroded circuits could cause the outlets to overheat. The company has received reports of four fires involving the cords, but no one has been injured.

RUNDOWN

Associated Press Big oil asks government to protect its Texas facilities from climate change

Wall Street Journal The new gas market: shippers needing cleaner fuel

New York Times Air pollution is shortening your life. Here is how much

Bloomberg Moms miss out on oil boom with Permian short of day care

Axios Climate change is opening a new era in Arctic shipping

Reuters In the race to bag Iran’s European oil market share, quality is king