|
Trump Administration Begins its Most Consequential Attack on Climate Regulation Yet: The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule repealing its 2009 “endangerment finding,” the scientific and legal determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare and therefore must be regulated under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the move at the White House, calling it the “single largest deregulatory action in American history” and claiming it will save Americans—and especially the fossil fuel industry—about $1.3 trillion in avoided compliance costs tied to current and future climate rules. The final rule does not dispute that greenhouse gases warm the planet. Instead, it advances a new legal theory: that the Clean Air Act was designed for pollutants causing “local or regional exposure,” and that EPA therefore lacks authority to treat globally mixed greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as “air pollution” in the same way. EPA’s preamble argues that prior administrations misread the statute and that Supreme Court decisions, including West Virginia v. EPA, have already narrowed the agency’s climate powers, making the 2009 finding an overextension of congressional intent. Much of the repeal’s justification leans on a controversial Department of Energy “climate working group” report that critics say cherry-picked data and understated climate risks; a federal court has already found that panel violated federal advisory committee rules, prompting scientists and legal experts to warn that basing a foundational decision on its work makes the rule especially vulnerable in court. Former EPA climate officials and outside scientists have blasted the repeal as both scientifically and legally indefensible. They note that the original 2009 finding was upheld by the D.C. Circuit as supported by “substantial evidence,” and that the statute’s language simply requires EPA to regulate any air pollutant that “may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare,” without limiting harms to local effects. Environmental and public health groups also note that the repeal’s economic analysis credits industry with compliance savings but largely ignores the rising costs of climate-driven disasters such as extreme heat, floods, and wildfires. By targeting the endangerment finding itself, the administration is going after the “underlying legal predicate” of federal climate policy rather than just loosening individual standards. The repeal is paired with a companion action that would end greenhouse gas emission standards for new cars and trucks, on the theory that without an endangerment finding, EPA has no obligation—or authority—to regulate climate pollution from the transportation sector, the nation’s largest direct source of emissions. Similar logic could be invoked to weaken or block carbon rules for power plants and major industrial sources, making it far harder for future Democratic administrations to use the Clean Air Act to drive a clean‑energy transition. The move comes on top of Trump’s earlier withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the underlying 1992 U.N. climate treaty framework, further signaling that the U.S. is stepping back from international climate commitments. Legal challenges are already being prepared by blue‑state attorneys general, environmental organizations, and public‑health advocates, who are expected to file in the D.C. Circuit as soon as the rule is published in the Federal Register and to seek an immediate stay to prevent a regulatory vacuum. To read more on the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding by the EPA, click here.
Kyle Haustveit Tapped as DOE Undersecretary of Energy: President Trump has nominated Kyle Haustveit, a former Devon Energy petroleum engineer and currently the Senate‑confirmed Assistant Secretary leading DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (recently rebranded internally around “hydrocarbons” and related programs), to serve as Undersecretary of Energy, replacing Wells Griffith, who was sidelined amid internal clashes over deep cuts to Biden‑era clean energy awards. As assistant secretary, Haustveit has overseen a roughly $5 billion R&D portfolio across coal, oil, natural gas, and critical minerals at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and has been a prominent public champion of using DOE to extend the life of existing fossil assets while advancing next‑generation extraction and processing technologies. Before joining DOE, Haustveit spent his career at Oklahoma‑based Devon Energy, where he led teams that developed and commercialized diagnostic techniques now used globally to optimize hydraulic fracturing and unconventional resource development, and later directed an “Energy Ventures” group that invested in early‑stage technologies such as enhanced geothermal, carbon capture and utilization, lithium extraction from brines, and produced‑water treatment. At DOE, he has backed industry‑aligned advisory bodies—like the revived National Coal Council—and has described that council as “instrumental” to efforts to modernize and extend the coal fleet while supporting new coal‑based power, exports, and product manufacturing. Haustveit’s elevation comes as the department advances a FY26 budget that slashes or zeroes out multiple solar, wind, hydrogen, vehicle, and building‑efficiency programs while protecting and, in some cases, expanding support for nuclear, coal, gas, and certain industrial technologies, reinforcing expectations that he will continue steering DOE away from broad renewable deployment programs and toward a strategy centered on fossil fuels, carbon‑intensive baseload, and selected “all of the above” pilots in geothermal and carbon management. If confirmed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, he would become a key architect of the administration’s “Energy Dominance” agenda inside DOE, with broad influence over grant implementation, loan programs, and the balance between traditional fossil energy and emerging low‑carbon technologies. To read more about Kyle Haustveit, the new Undersecretary‑designate for Energy, click here.
Despite Court Battles with the White House, Revolution Wind Poised to Come Online Within Weeks: The $6.2 billion Revolution Wind project is expected to begin generating electricity “in a matter of weeks,” a major milestone for the 704‑megawatt offshore wind farm that has survived two stop‑work orders from the Trump administration. Ørsted CEO Rasmus Errboe told analysts that 59 of the 65 Siemens Gamesa 14‑megawatt turbines are now installed, with the offshore substation, inter‑array cables, and main export cable all energized, putting the project on track for first power in early 2026 despite a late‑December Interior Department directive that halted work on five major U.S. offshore wind farms for 90 days, citing national security risks. Revolution Wind, a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables, successfully challenged both orders in D.C. federal court, where Senior Judge Royce Lamberth called the latest suspension “arbitrary and capricious” and unsupported by credible evidence of threats to military operations. The project is contracted to supply 400 megawatts to Rhode Island and 304 megawatts to Connecticut, enough to power about 350,000 homes, and has already created thousands of union jobs at ports in Providence and New London while investing hundreds of millions in local infrastructure like heavy‑lift terminals and manufacturing facilities. The rush to completion coincides with volatile Northeast energy prices following recent Arctic blasts, including Winter Storm Fern. While Trump officials have seized on those events to criticize renewables as “unreliable,” New England grid data shows operational projects like Vineyard Wind and South Fork delivering during peaks—Vineyard at 40–75 percent capacity versus the national coal fleet’s historical average—helping preserve stored fuel like oil and gas for true emergencies and “keep[ing] a lid on prices,” according to Connecticut energy commissioner Katie Dykes. Administration resistance persists. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum vowed Wednesday to appeal all five federal rulings blocking the stop‑work orders, reiterating claims that turbine blades create radar clutter and could mask drone threats. At the same time, Trump has repeatedly labeled offshore wind “weak, ineffective, and very, very costly.” To read more on the legal battle over offshore wind and the future of the Revolution Wind project, click here.
Draft Agreement on Data Center Construction Leaked to the Press: The Trump administration is courting major technology giants to sign on to a new “AI Data Center Compact,” a voluntary framework intended to blunt public backlash over the soaring energy and water demands of AI infrastructure while avoiding formal regulation. According to a draft obtained by POLITICO, companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta would be asked to endorse broad principles committing them to build and operate data centers in ways that do not raise household electricity prices, strain local water supplies, or undermine grid reliability in host communities. At the heart of the proposal is a requirement that AI data center developers pay 100 percent of the costs of new generation and transmission built to serve their facilities and sign long-term power contracts so ordinary ratepayers are not left covering fixed costs if a project shuts down or relocates. The draft also outlines “grid flexibility” commitments, including allowing load curtailment during extreme weather and, where feasible, using on-site backup generation, batteries, or microgrids to support the broader system during emergencies. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers has framed the effort as asking “top tech companies to pick up the tab for their power consumption.” At the same time, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has cast AI acceleration as a national security imperative, argues the compact can both protect consumers and keep the U.S. ahead of China in advanced computing. The push comes as data center power demand is forecast to rise sharply, with S&P Global’s 451 Research projecting that U.S. grid demand from data centers will nearly triple by 2030. Critics remain skeptical of the plan’s voluntary nature and its promise of “accelerated interconnection” for signatories—a federal commitment to help participating companies move faster through the grid‑connection and permitting queues that currently delay large projects for years. They argue that, absent clear enforcement mechanisms, companies could continue to build in already‑strained regions while using the compact mainly as a public‑relations shield, and they question whether the federal government can meaningfully guarantee faster interconnections in a system where regional grid operators, state regulators, and utilities ultimately control most of the levers. Supporters counter that even a voluntary framework could establish new norms—such as developers fully funding their own infrastructure and accepting curtailment—that state commissions and grid operators can later hardwire into tariffs and contracts, shaping how the next wave of AI data centers integrates with the grid. To read more on the White House AI Data Center Compact and the future of grid reliability, click here.
Federal Backing of Construction Cost Overruns for Nuclear Reactors Gets Bipartisan Support: Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) have introduced the “Accelerating Reliable Capacity (ARC) Act of 2026,” a bipartisan bill to cushion first-of-a-kind commercial nuclear projects against the cost overruns that have long plagued the industry and scared off private investors. The 18-page bill would authorize up to $3.6 billion for a new “risk reduction” program at the Department of Energy to support at least three advanced nuclear projects, helping them reach commercialization by providing a limited federal cost share when expenses rise above initial estimates. Rather than a blank check, the ARC program is structured as a targeted backstop: DOE can step in with defined financial support once projects exceed agreed-upon budgets and schedules, using enhanced financing terms and capped federal contributions to share a portion of the overrun risk. The proposal comes on the heels of recent bipartisan steps, such as the ADVANCE Act, to streamline licensing and support new reactor designs, and reflects a widening consensus that some federal assumption of first-of-a-kind risk is needed if advanced reactors are to move from demonstration to full commercial deployment. The ARC Act has already drawn support from the Nuclear Energy Institute, ClearPath Action, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, and leaders at Idaho National Laboratory and Arizona utilities, who say targeted overrun protection will help unlock private capital while giving DOE and Congress leverage to enforce best practices on cost, schedule, and project management. To read more on the ARC Act of 2026 and the future of advanced nuclear financing, click here.
Bill to Digitize Permitting System Gains Momentum in the Senate: Senators John Curtis (R-Utah) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have introduced the “ePermit Act,” a bipartisan bill to modernize the federal government’s largely paper-based environmental and energy permitting system by creating a centralized, cloud-based portal for applications and reviews. The measure is a Senate companion to a House bill (H.R. 4503) that passed last year by voice vote, signaling unusually broad support across party lines for a narrow, process-focused reform that leaves underlying environmental standards intact. Under the ePermit Act, federal agencies would be required to move key permitting workflows—including application submission, interagency consultations, public comments, and status updates—into a single digital platform accessible to project sponsors, regulators, and the public. Sponsors say this will reduce duplicative paperwork, reduce lost or inconsistent records, and make it easier to coordinate complex reviews involving multiple agencies under statutes such as NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Industry groups, infrastructure developers, and policy think tanks have praised the proposal as a “common sense” step within the broader, more contentious debate over comprehensive permitting reform, arguing that better data management and real-time tracking can meaningfully shorten timelines for projects ranging from energy to transportation. Environmental and community organizations, for their part, have generally welcomed the transparency provisions, which are expected to give the public easier access to environmental documents and clearer insight into when and how decisions are made. To read more on the ePermit Act and the digitalization of federal energy permitting, click here.
Energy Secretary Wright Gives Further Details of U.S. Involvement in Venezuela Oil Industry: On Tuesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright held a closed-door briefing for Republican senators to clarify the Trump administration’s evolving approach to Venezuela’s oil sector following the January capture of Nicolás Maduro, distancing the policy from President Trump’s earlier rhetoric about indefinite U.S. control over Venezuelan crude sales. Speaking publicly afterward, Wright described Venezuela as a “geopolitical problem” that had become “a threat to all of its neighbors” through guns, drugs, and crime, adding that its oil wealth was “a nice coincidence, but coincidental” to the broader U.S. goal of stabilizing the hemisphere and attracting private investment to revive a collapsed industry. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) said the approach “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II.” At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously clarified that Washington would not take direct ownership of PDVSA assets but would use sanctions relief and diplomatic leverage to encourage market-driven reforms. A key development came last week when acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed a sweeping overhaul of Venezuela’s hydrocarbons law, ending state oil company PDVSA’s monopoly on production, sales, and pricing and allowing private firms—including U.S. majors like Chevron—to operate autonomously with rights to independent international arbitration instead of chavista-controlled courts. The changes are seen as a direct response to investor demands for protection against expropriation risks that drove ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and others out after Hugo Chávez’s nationalizations. The next day, Wright made a historic three-day visit to Caracas—the highest-level U.S. energy trip in nearly 30 years—meeting Rodríguez at the Miraflores Palace alongside PDVSA executives and Chevron leaders before touring the massive Petropiar joint venture in the Orinoco Belt. Flanked by U.S. and Venezuelan flags, Wright delivered a message from Trump: “He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela… to bring commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, [and] opportunity to the people of Venezuela” as part of a “make the Americas great again” vision. He touted plans for a “dramatic increase” in output through U.S. and allied investment but stressed that more assurances on property rights and governance were needed to trigger a true “flood” of capital. To read more on the administration’s evolving Venezuela policy, click here.
|
