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TRUMP TOUTS ELECTRIC CAR DEAL IN TENNESSEE AS VW FACES NEW FINES: President Trump congratulated Tennessee on Tuesday for being Volkswagen’s choice to open its first $800 million electric vehicle manufacturing plant in North America.

Trump called the news a “big win” for Chattanooga Tuesday morning.

VW has also been under pressure from the Trump administration to increase its investments in the U.S.

The electric vehicle plan was agreed to after considering adding new production runs for luxury Audi cars in Chattanooga, VW CEO Herbert Deiss explained on Monday. But that idea was scrapped to build EVs at the plant in Tennessee, beginning in 2022.

VW announced the news on Monday at the Detroit Auto Show.

U.S. carmaker Ford announced Tuesday that it is forming an alliance with VW to build and market its mid-size trucks and vans globally. The effort will begin in 2022.

Bad news from the subcontinent: But alongside the company’s good news, the company suffered a blow in India. A special “green” panel established in the country last year is recommending fines against VW for allegations it installed emission cheating software in makes of vehicles sold in the country.

The Indian green commission was set up in 2018 in the wake of allegations stemming from U.S. regulators in 2015 that the company intentionally installed defeat device to make it easier for its diesel cars to comply with environmental rules.

VW said Tuesday that it rejects the Indian panel’s findings. The panel is recommending $24 million in fines against the company. VW has paid billions of dollars in fines, penalties, and restitution in the U.S.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] 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.  

GREEN NEW DEAL EXPOSES RIFTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Transforming the so-called “Green New Deal” from broad concept to legislative language will be a major challenge for the Democratic Party.

The proposal, backed by freshman media sensation Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has excited progressives, who have longed for major federal action to combat climate change.

But it has also exposed fissures between establishment Democrats and new progressives over turf, ambition, and process.

What’s in the deal? Its core tenets are requiring the country to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 and making massive public investments in clean energy infrastructure on things such as light rail, electric vehicle charging stations, and weatherized buildings.

The plan also would guarantee a job to anybody who wants to work in the clean-energy transition, make every residential and industrial building more energy efficient, and build a national “smart” grid to better incorporate wind and solar power.

“Now it’s the job of Congress to come up with policies and be concrete and precise about what that means,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told Josh.

As an example of how aspects of the Green New Deal could become policy, Khanna said he plans to introduce a bill that expands the EV tax credit and links it to a requirement for automakers to build their electric cars in the U.S.

How about carbon pricing? One big question climate advocates have is what role carbon pricing has in the Green New Deal.

Progressives say they are not dismissing it, but view carbon pricing as a “tiny part” of a bigger policy.

“The debate over carbon pricing to me isn’t all that interesting,” Saikat Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, told Josh.

Read more of Josh’s story in this week’s Washington Examiner magazine.

NO ‘NEW WAIVERS’ FROM IRAN SANCTIONS, TRUMP OFFICIAL SAYS: A senior Trump administration official said Monday that it does not intend to grant any new sanctions waivers for countries that buy Iranian oil.

“We are not looking to grant any new waivers — that’s been our policy from the beginning,” Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative for Iran, told Bloomberg. “We’ve been able to achieve a lot of economic pressure on Iran. We want to deny the Iranian regime the revenue that it uses to destabilize the Middle East.”

Eighty percent of Iran’s revenues come from oil exports, Hook added.

Hook said that of the eight countries that secured exemptions to continue buying oil from Iran, only five are still making purchases. He said U.S. sanctions have cut Iran’s exports to about 1 million barrels a day from 2.7 million.

How we got here: After promising a zero-tolerance approach to cutting off oil supplied from Iran, the Trump administration blinked at the prospect of higher oil and gas prices, and granted exemptions in November, to countries including China, India, South Korea, and others.

The exemptions contributed to the recent fall in oil prices, as less crude came off the market than expected.

RYAN ZINKE LANDS JOB AT INVESTMENT COMPANY: Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has landed his first job since leaving the Trump administration, becoming managing director of the investment company, Artillery One.

In his new job, Zinke will pursue investing and development opportunities in energy, technology,  and cybersecurity, the North Carolina-based company said in a statement Monday.

Zinke told the Associated Press that he’s “glad to be out of the swamp” and working in the private sector.

He resigned from the Interior Department last month after facing probes into whether he used his position for personal gain.

ETHANOL INDUSTRY LAUNCHES NATIONAL E15 CAMPAIGN AFTER TRUMP’S SPEECH: The ethanol industry launched a national campaign Tuesday morning to proclaim the benefits of 15-percent ethanol fuel blends, after Trump addressed farmers Monday touting his support for the fuel.

“We’re ensuring that ethanol remains a vital part of America’s energy future, with E-15,” Trump said in a speech before the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th annual convention. “And we’re making it available year round — all 12 months. That was a big, big difference for the farmers.”

Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler is working on a rule that would repeal restrictions on 15-percent ethanol fuels, or E15, year-round. The regulation is not finished, but is being promised by the time the summer driving season begins in June. The high-concentration ethanol fuel is banned from use during the summer months because of its high volatility. But an EPA waiver could end that.

The Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry’s top lobbying group, kicked off a campaign on the benefits of year-round E15 Tuesday morning with digital ads on The Washington Post website and the launch of a new  consumer education internet portal on E15.

Wheeler goes before the Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday where the waiver is expected to come up. Wheeler was nominated this month to be the new EPA administrator, where he currently serves as acting chief after the agency’s former head resigned after numerous scandals.

TRUMP SIGNS NEW NUCLEAR BILL INTO LAW: Trump signed a new bill Monday night into law to drive nuclear energy innovation at the federal level, while making federal nuclear regulators more accountable for their budget.

The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act would provide greater transparency to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s budget, which has been the focus of the GOP in recent years. On the Democratic side of the ledger, the bill would position the nation’s nuclear regulatory to be more inclined to permit advanced reactor technology, which will be required to lower emissions and fight climate change.

“The law will bring greater transparency and accountability to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s spending,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee that oversees the NRC.

The committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, recognized the climate benefits of signing the bill into law.

“Nuclear power serves as our nation’s largest source of reliable, carbon-free energy, which can help combat the negative impacts of climate change and at the same time, foster economic opportunities for Americans,” Carper said.

RUNDOWN

New York Times PG&E bankruptcy tests who will pay for California wildfires

Wall Street Journal US considers harshest Venezuela sanctions yet, on oil

Washington Post Ice loss from Antarctica has sextupled since the 1970s, new research finds

Associated Press EPA criminal action against polluters hits 30-year low