TRUMP TALKS NUCLEAR ENERGY WITH SAUDI CROWN PRINCE: Energy Secretary Rick Perry rushed over to the White House late Tuesday morning to lead talks on nuclear energy cooperation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after testifying in the Senate on his agency’s fiscal 2019 budget.

Perry’s plans to join President Trump at the White House were mentioned by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who leads the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

U.S.-Saudi collaboration on developing a nuclear energy program will be a top issue when the Saudi crown prince visits the White House early Tuesday afternoon, a senior administration officials told reporters Monday.

U.S. help in developing a Saudi civil nuclear program will be discussed with a long list of regional security concerns, including the disruptive influence of Iran in the region, the officials said.

“We continue to engage with our Saudi partners on their plans for a civil nuclear program, and possible U.S. supply of nuclear equipment, expertise and materials,” said one senior administration official on the call.

Critics of the Trump administration’s encouragement of nuclear power in Saudi Arabia say it runs the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation in the Persian Gulf.

The crown prince said ahead of his U.S. visit that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, so will the Saudis. A senior administration official said Monday that the president will listen to Salman’s concerns about Iran as the administration looks to make a decision on Iran sanctions in May.

• Happy Nowruz: Ahead of the meeting with Salman, President Trump sent warm greetings to the Iranian people who celebrate the beginning of spring, before launching into a statement of repudiation of the Iranian regime.

• Trump’s climate advice for Iran: Trump said the Iranian regime’s “corruption and mismanagement have exacerbated the effects of an ongoing drought and created an ecological crisis.”

He went on to offer infrastructure advice for Iran. “Unregulated dam construction by its companies like Khatam al-Anbia has dried rivers and lakes and helped create unprecedented dust storms that threaten Iranians’ jobs and lives.”

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UNDER ‘ATTACK’ BY RUSSIA, PERRY BOASTS OF NEW CYBER OFFICE: Perry told senators Tuesday that a new cyber security office he plans to create will be sufficient to respond to Russia’s targeting of the U.S. power grid, as Democrats argued that action is not aggressive enough.

“The formation of this office better positions the department to address emerging threats and natural disasters and support the department’s expanded national security responsibilities,” Perry said in testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“There is a clear role that DOE plays on cyber,” he added. “We are committed to being as technology advanced as possible, and it’s the reason we have structured the department as such to clearly send the message this is important and we are going to fund it as such.”

• Russia targets grid: The Trump administration last week for the first time publicly accused Russia of targeting the U.S. power grid with cyberattacks.

After the government issued its alert, Perry warned members of a House Appropriations subcommittee that he’s “not confident” the government has an appropriate strategy to combat “hundreds of thousands” of cybersecurity attacks directed at the U.S. every day.

• Cyber office not enough: Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy committee, seized on that comment Tuesday as evidence Perry needs to do more.

She wants the federal government to assess the threat of Russia’s cyber activities.

“Our energy infrastructure is under attack, it’s under cyber attack and we need to do much more to protect it as national critical asset,” Cantwell said. “Establishing a new cyber office with marginal [funding] increases is not a substitute for meaningful action we need.”

• Budget prioritizes cyber: Perry responded by ensuring “we are spending dollars in other areas of the budget that will have a concrete effect on cyber.”

“It’s not just that line item in standing up the cyber office,” Perry said.

He also said the Energy Department is doing a cyber assessment, although he didn’t say if it applies specifically to Russia.

“I think that’s going on as we speak,” Perry said. “We have three different areas within DOE focused on cyber, and have been meeting and having these conversations before.”

GOP, DEMOCRATS SPAR OVER NUCLEAR ENERGY PRIORITIES: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission faced political pressure over its fiscal 2019 budget request from lawmakers Tuesday morning.

Top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee want the federal nuclear regulator to be more flexible and agile to help struggling reactors stay in business amid market pressures and continued closures of power plants.

• Can’t stop poking at Perry’s plan: On the other hand, top Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Paul Tonko of New York used their time to repudiate Perry’s proposed plan at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to give nuclear power plants incentives. NRC had no role in the Perry plan, but that didn’t stop Democrats from using the hearing to praise FERC for rejecting the plan.

• NRC’s safety mission in jeopardy: However, Tonko, the top Democrat on the committee’s environment panel, said Congress cannot support the GOP plans to ask NRC to do more with less. He warned that the regulator’s safety mission could be jeopardized.

“The members may believe that the commission has too heavy a hand and that burdensome regulations on the industry are hurting its competitiveness,” Tonko said.

• More for Yucca: Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the panel, also wanted to know how much funding the regulatory agency needs to resume the licensing for opening the Yucca Mountain nation nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Opening the facility is a priority for the Republican Congress and Trump administration.

PERRY DISCUSSES ‘ALL-OF-THE-ABOVE’ STRATEGY WITH WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Perry is focused on an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy as he moves into his second year as head of the Energy Department. He told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview that the Trump administration is not only focused on fossil fuels, but also wants to support a global market for U.S.-made solar and renewable energy technologies.

• New energy plan coming: Perry is also working with the White House on rolling out an energy strategy for Appalachia, which will look to build out the petrochemical capacity of coal country, which is now at the center of the shale natural gas boom.

JACK GERARD HOPES TO LEAVE A LEGACY OF RESPECT: The longtime leader of the American Petroleum Institute told John that he hopes his legacy of running industry lobbying groups will be one of respect.

“I think there are two keys to being successful in Washington,” Gerard said. “One’s hard work, and the other is integrity.”

The result of those two key areas coming together is “respect,” which is the legacy, or tone, he hopes to leave behind.

Read more of John’s article on Gerard here.

WHITE HOUSE: FORMER OIL COMPANY EXECUTIVES ARE ‘HOSTAGES’ IN VENEZUELA: A senior Trump administration official said Monday that former Citgo executives detained for four months in Venezuela are being used as “hostages” and “bargaining chips” by President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Venezuelan authorities detained six Citgo executives in November, after the U.S. imposed sanctions limiting the flow of corporate cash from the Houston-based company to Venezuela. At least four of the detained executives are naturalized U.S. citizens.

The executives, Citgo’s former CEO and five vice presidents, were arrested shortly before Thanksgiving and replaced by new executives led by CEO Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and others believed to be allied with Maduro.

PIPELINE GROUP CONCERNED ABOUT ‘UNCERTAINTY’ IN TARIFF EXEMPTION PROCESS: A pipeline industry group expressed concern Monday that companies will have a tough time receiving an exemption from Trump’s tariffs on steel imports.

That’s because a newly published Commerce Department filing in the Federal Register shows that companies will have to request separate exemptions for each type of steel product they import, rather than allowing for broader, industry-wide exclusions.

• ‘Delays and uncertainty’: “We appreciate the Commerce Department’s commitment to review exclusion requests promptly,” Cathy Landry, a spokeswoman for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, told the Washington Examiner. “We are concerned, however, that failure to allow broader exclusions — and to instead require each company to apply for product-specific exclusions — could result in delays and uncertainty.”

• Why a tariff matters: The type of steel used in pipelines and other energy infrastructure is a niche market, and most domestic steel producers have left the pipeline market because of its high cost.

Trump’s tariffs could drive up the cost for projects that require steel, with developers  passing on the higher prices to customers.

NATURAL GAS AND COAL ELECTRICITY GENERATION FALL: Electricity generation from natural gas and coal fell by 7.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, last year from 2016, as generation from renewables increased, according to a Energy Information Administration report released Tuesday morning.

• Losing dominance: Natural gas continued to be most-used fuel for electricity generation for the third consecutive year. But natural gas generation suffered its largest ever annual decline.

Coal-fired electricity generation fell to a lesser extent, marking the first year since 2008 that both natural gas- and coal-fired electricity generation dropped in the same year.

• Wind and solar rising: Electricity from renewable sources, especially wind and solar, continued to increase in 2017. Wind made up 6.3 percent of total generation, and utility-scale solar made up 1.3 percent, record amounts for both fuels.

Hydroelectricity also increased in 2017, largely in California, accounting for 7.5 percent of total generation.

CONSERVATION GROUPS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR ELEPHANT TROPHY POLICY: Four conservation and animal rights groups sued the Trump administration Tuesday for its new policy of allowing hunters to import elephant and lion trophies from African countries on a case-by-case basis.   

Opponents say the the new policy will be difficult to monitor.

• ‘Behind closed doors’: “Elephants shouldn’t be killed for cheap thrills, and the Trump administration shouldn’t make crucial trophy hunting decisions behind closed doors,” said Tanya Sanerib, international program legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Federal wildlife officials seem to be thumbing their nose at President Trump after he called for an end to the horror show of trophy hunting.”  

• Who sued: The Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, and Born Free USA filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Washington.

FERC GRANTS 30 DAYS EXTENSION FOR COMMENTS ON GRID RESILIENCE: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday granted a 30-day extension for public comments on an analysis by regional grid operators about the resilience of the power system.

The nation’s federally overseen grid operators, which run about 70 percent of the U.S. power supply, reported to FERC March 9 on resilience challenges in their markets, or the grid’s ability to bounce back from a major disruption such as this year’s bomb cyclone in the Northeast.

• Report card: FERC directed regional transmission operators to report on grid resilience after the commission rejected a proposal by the Energy Department to provide special payments to ailing coal and nuclear plants.

The public could offer comment on what the grid operators told FERC for 30 days.

• Industry sought extension: Officials from the American Council on Renewable Energy, American Petroleum Institute, Solar Energy Industries Association, American Wind Energy Association, and more told FERC they needed more time.

Parties now have until May 9 to offer reply comments.

ARAMCO SCALES BACK IPO PLAN, FAVORS SAUDI-ONLY LISTING:  Saudi Arabia plans to scale back its plan for a public offering of its national oil company Saudi Aramco that could have raised as much as $100 billion.

Government officials told the Wall Street Journal Monday that they will list the company only on the Saudi stock exchange before deciding whether to list internationally, such as on the New York Stock Exchange.

• Delay tactic: Aramco had long been expected to begin trading on the stock market this year, but the Saudis are likely to wait until 2019 to make what would be the world’s biggest initial public offering.

• Losing out: Trump has tried to persuade the Saudis to list Aramco on the New York Stock Exchange. The London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange also were considered leading candidates to host the IPO.

EPA TO HOLD SUMMIT ON DRINKING WATER: The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that it will hold a two-day summit in May to address a chemical that has been seen as a drinking water contaminant.

• Persistent chemical in drinking water: The summit will be held to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, which have been turning up in the water supplies of many states.

The chemicals provide the nonstick properties found in everything from kitchenware to food packaging. Studies are being conducted on the effects of the chemicals on humans, including by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The administration formed a task force to address safety concerns in November 2017.

• May summit: The two-day summit, which will be held May 23 to 24 in Washington, will be used to provide “critical national leadership,” while ensuring state, tribal, and local governments that they will be able “to help shape our path forward,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said.

RUNDOWN

Daily Caller Scott Pruitt will end EPA’s use of ‘secret science’ to justify regulations

Bloomberg Lithium seen as lifeline for oil majors in clean energy future

Wall Street Journal Ship owners’ multibillion-dollar quandary: buy cleaner fuel or a fuel cleaner?

Washington Post Tougher climate policies could save 150 million lives, researchers find

Reuters World’s last male northern white rhino dies

Axios Do you want to cut carbon with that? McDonald’s sets climate target

Politico GOP fears electoral disaster with West Virginia coal baron and ex-con Don Blankenship