<p><strong>WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:</strong> Good afternoon and happy October, readers! Fat Bear Week might be over, but fall animal fun has just begun. The National Park Service is holding what it has called “Chunky Puppy Day” later today, livestreaming a weigh-in to see how big sled dog puppies in Denali National Park got over the summer. Tune in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams-pups.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<ul> <li>Hopefully you’ve had a chance to skim through the lengthy permitting bill released by the Senate yesterday. If not, you may not have seen that it includes what could be the first federal regulations for data centers. Keep reading to find out what that would look like.</li> </ul>
<p><em>Welcome to</em> <em>Daily on Energy, written by</em> Washington Examiner <em>energy and environment writers</em> <strong><em>Callie Patteson</em></strong> <em>(</em><a href="http://click1.trk-washingtonexaminer.com/tjjzwtdvhhpkjpwhkbdvbkdrfvktbmgmfsvfpdbzzpmjwh_zpsmsbdldzz.html?a=Daily+on+Energy+011426&b=01%2F14%2F2026&c=WEX_Daily+on+Energy&d=25486800&e=74099866aa2c0d01e9f38050cb25f7dae70ca665c8be98d6137212ccf7a6e60b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>@CalliePatteson</em></a><em>) and</em> <strong><em>Maydeen Merino</em></strong> <em>(</em><a href="http://x.com/MaydeenMerino?utm_source=Daily%20on%20Energy%20112024_11/20/2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Energy&rid=25486800&env=74099866aa2c0d01e9f38050cb25f7dae70ca665c8be98d6137212ccf7a6e60b&utm_source=Daily+on+Energy+121024_12%2F10%2F2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Energy&rid=25486800&env=74099866aa2c0d01e9f38050cb25f7dae70ca665c8be98d6137212ccf7a6e60b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>@MaydeenMerino</em></a><em>). 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,</em> <a href="https://newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com/newsletters/daily-on-energy/?utm_source=Daily%20on%20Energy%20112024_11/20/2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Energy&rid=25486800&env=74099866aa2c0d01e9f38050cb25f7dae70ca665c8be98d6137212ccf7a6e60b&utm_source=Daily+on+Energy+121024_12%2F10%2F2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Energy&rid=25486800&env=74099866aa2c0d01e9f38050cb25f7dae70ca665c8be98d6137212ccf7a6e60b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>click here</em></a><em>. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.</em></p>
<h2><strong>SENATE PERMITTING BILL (BAAJA) INCLUDES ENERGY RULES FOR DATA CENTERS:</strong></h2>
<p>Over the last 24 hours, Callie has been parsing the 417-page permitting bill released by the Senate yesterday afternoon. As expected, it includes provisions reforming landmark environmental laws and modernizing federal permitting systems.</p>
<p>The legislation broadly would make it easier and faster to build energy infrastructure projects, highways, and data centers. As concerns have surged in recent months that the rapid development of data centers will increase electricity bills, the Senate included several measures that would establish the first federal regulations for data centers.</p>
<p>The bill, known formally as the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, specifically would require data centers and other large-load facilities to pay for the energy and transmission infrastructure needed for their operations.</p>
<p>The legislation mandates that utilities ensure that transmission costs are fully assigned to these large-load operators to “minimize or avoid cost burden on other customers.”</p>
<p>It would also require that these large facilities incur the “full cost” of the transmission services they require.</p>
<p>In a section dedicated to data centers, the bill would require that no incremental costs are passed on to other customers.</p>
<p>Data centers must also provide utilities with financial assurances or contributions sufficient to cover the cost of the project before construction on a generating, transmission, or distribution facility begins.</p>
<p>In a separate section, the bipartisan bill would require data centers to report their energy use to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.</p>
<p><strong>Already trouble in the House:</strong> The Senate will not be voting on the permitting package until Congress returns to D.C. after the midterm elections.</p>
<p>The text released this week is not expected to be the final version, as negotiators are using a managers’ amendment to adjust the language and add additional provisions as they take it up for consideration.</p>
<p>Once passed in the Senate, the bill will go to the House. While several Democrats have expressed support for the package, tensions are already brewing.</p>
<p>Yesterday evening, Rep. <strong>Jared Huffman</strong> of California <a href="https://x.com/RepHuffman/status/2105426927716876781" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> he wants to push permitting to the next Congress, when Democrats are likely to be in control of the House. Huffman currently sits as the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, and would be selected as chair if Democrats regain the chamber.</p>
<p>He claimed the Senate version “concedes too much,” specifically regarding the Endangered Species Act.</p>
<p>“Folding our hand now or in the lame duck makes no sense when we can keep working on this and, in a few more months, have a much better deal that works for everyone,” Huffman said.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>Other News:</strong></h2>
<p><strong>SOUTH KOREA PUMPS THE BRAKES ON LNG PIPELINE PROJECT:</strong> South Korea said its investment in a liquefied natural gas pipeline project in Alaska is not a done deal.</p>
<p>President <strong>Donald Trump</strong> announced that South Korea would invest over $50 billion for a liquefied natural gas pipeline in Alaska.</p>
<p>But Industry Minister <strong>Kim Jung-kwan</strong> at a press briefing said the two countries had agreed to “initiate a review” of the pipeline deal. Kim noted that South Korea did not agree to a specific dollar amount.</p>
<p>“Putting out figures, or using definitive language, goes far beyond what was agreed,” he said.</p>
<p>South Korean President <strong>Lee Jae Myung</strong> also <a href="https://x.com/Jaemyung_Lee/status/2105486577208299977" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said on X</a> that several conditions must be met before the country participates in the project, including that it must be commercially viable and comply with Korean legal procedures.</p>
<p>White House spokesperson <strong>Taylor Rogers</strong> said in a statement that the project would create thousands of jobs, generating $25 billion in state and local revenue while also saving $10 billion in energy costs for Alaska.</p>
<p>The 800-mile pipeline project is expected to start in Prudhoe Bay along the Arctic Ocean. The pipeline would facilitate the U.S. shipping LNG to buyers in Asia.</p>
<p><strong>U.S. TELLS GERMANY AND FRANCE TO DRAW ON DIESEL INVENTORIES OR FACE EXPORT BAN:</strong> <em>Reuters</em> reports that the Trump administration is pressuring Germany and France to use their own emergency diesel inventories to lower surging prices, or face an export ban.</p>
<p>While the European Union is meeting later this week to discuss releasing diesel stocks, the administration is reportedly upset primarily with France and Germany.</p>
<p>U.S. officials reportedly believe the two countries have not fully followed through on past commitments to release reserves.</p>
<p>As of today, the national average price of diesel was $6.3895 a gallon, up by nearly $3 compared to one year ago, according to AAA.</p>
<p><strong>STATES SUE EPA OVER POWER PLANT RULE:</strong> A coalition of 25 states and cities, led by New York’s attorney general, has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of the 2024 emission standards for fossil fuel power plants.</p>
<p>The group filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to strike down the agency’s final rule. Environmental and health groups also sued the administration last month for repealing the set of standards finalized during the Biden administration.</p>
<p>The rolled-back standards would have required new and existing plants to reduce carbon pollution by installing carbon capture, sequestration, and storage technology.</p>
<p><strong>OHIO CUTS GAS TAXES:</strong> Ohio Gov. <strong>Mike DeWine</strong> signed a measure to suspend the state’s gas tax for 90 days to lower fuel costs.</p>
<p>The ban would temporarily suspend the state’s 38 cent gas tax and 47 cent diesel tax. Ohio joins a list of states that have been taking action to lower record-high diesel prices.</p>
<p>Georgia has also suspended its fuel tax for 30 days to help lower fuel prices. Other states have waived restrictions or penalties on the use of dyed diesel, which are generally not subject to federal taxes.</p>
<p>Those states include: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Nebraska, and Louisiana.</p>
<p><strong>SENATORS DROP NEW DATA CENTER BILLS:</strong> Republican Sen. <strong>John Curtis</strong> of Utah and Democratic Sen. <strong>Lisa Blunt Rochester</strong> of Delaware released two data center bills meant to provide greater transparency.</p>
<p><em>Politico</em> reported that one of the bills would create a program within the Energy Department to provide the public with access to technical expertise on the costs and benefits of proposed projects.</p>
<p>The second bill would require federal reporting on the environmental impacts of data centers that consume at least 50 megawatts.</p>
<p><strong>CANADA TO FAST-TRACK EXPORT OIL PIPELINE:</strong> Canada plans to fast-track the approval for a new oil export pipeline to its west coast.</p>
<p>Canadian Prime Minister <strong>Mark Carney</strong> announced that Ottawa would officially list the Pacific Link pipeline as a project of national interest, allowing it to proceed through a single federal regulatory review process. It is expected to complete the review process by September 2027.</p>
<p>The pipeline would provide another route to Asian buyers, moving 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, potentially positioning Canada as a major global energy supplier.</p>
<p><strong>ICYMI – NEWSOM SIGNS NUCLEAR AND FUSION BILLS INTO LAW:</strong> California Gov. <strong>Gavin Newsom</strong> signed legislation to accelerate the development of fusion energy and nuclear power in the state.</p>
<p>The bills signed into law are focused on building out fusion energy, ordering the creation of a strategic plan to develop fusion, and expanding opportunities for fusion research in the state.</p>
<p>One bill aims to set a pathway for California to lift its longstanding moratorium on new nuclear energy.</p>
<p>The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prepare a study on the role of advanced nuclear technologies for supporting critical infrastructure, meeting electricity demands, and achieving the state’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2045.</p>
<p><strong>Key quote:</strong> “Nuclear energy is the United States’ largest source of clean power, supplying nearly 20% of the nation’s electricity while avoiding over 470 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions,” said Democratic Assemblymember <strong>Lisa Calderon</strong>, who introduced the nuclear bill. “Fifty years ago, California made a choice based on the technologies and needs of that era. Today, we face an entirely different reality. Our grid needs firm clean power.”</p>
<p><strong>RUNDOWN</strong></p>
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