Energy Update: Week of February 10th

Friends,

I successfully made it out of Mexico thanks to the 30-day delay in the tariffs…just enough time for me to escape and watch a pretty lame Super Bowl where the Eagles blew out the two-time defending champs, 40-22 (it wasn’t event that close and that last meaningless 50-yard bomb touchdown cost me the 4^th quarter in the pool). Congrats to the Eagles and our friend Brian Sansoni, long-time head of Comms for the American Clean Institute and HUGE Eagles fan. Brian actually attended the game, so when he returns from the celebratory stupor, I will get a report and pass it along.

The craziness continues this week as Congress really starts to feel the heat on how they are going to develop a budget. I know everyone has been captured by the shiny DOGE objects and the 25-year-old black backpackers running around agencies. But, as a former House Appropriations staffer, I can tell you the rubber meet the budget road in Congress where all the budget bickering will matter and really dictate how we go forward.

That said, we expect this week the budget takes center stage where the Senate Budget Committee with Chairman Lindsay Graham hope to move a two-pronged package on Wednesday and Thursday. The effort will likely touch energy issues through requiring more oil and gas lease sales while rescinding the methane fee for the sector.

A full hearing line up this week in Congress highlighted by Wednesday’s Senate Environment Committee hearing on Carbon Capture and Storage. Senate Energy holds an organizing meeting tomorrow, while House Transportation looks at clean water permitting and two House Resources’ subpanels look at public lands and offshore energy.  Finally, a House Energy Subpanel looks at AI and manufacturing and House Science discusses the National Energy Labs on Wednesday.

Off the Hill, Politico hosts a discussion tomorrow about how lawmakers, the Trump administration and FERC will tackle increasing energy demand. On Wednesday, USEA holds a press briefing featuring my colleague Scott Segal and other experts discussing expectations about the Trump administration’s energy agenda and Thursday, RFF hosts a virtual workshop on the benefits and costs of specific environmental regulations, with my colleague Jeff Holmstead among the speakers.

This is also a big week for getting a sense of the direction oil. IEA, OPEC, and EIA will all release their latest global supply and demand outlooks. For the short-term, both IEA and EIA are expected to continue to show only very small production growth and a modest demand increase. But as I have said numerous times, you can also expect a longer-term positive signal (probably WAY MORE important to the industry) in the budget package that I just mentioned.  As my friend Ben Geman wrote in Axios: steps like expanded leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and frontier areas in Alaska can lay the groundwork for big projects that take many years to come to fruition.

Remember next week to mark your calendars for Wednesday (Feb 19) at 3:00 pm when BNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy release the 2025 Sustainability Factbook. The 2025 Factbook will look back on year-on-year dynamics, including the increase in energy demand driven by AI, data centers and manufacturing, as well as how siting and permitting processes are impacting project development. It will include data that will help media understand key energy trends as well as the impact of policy and market changes on sustainable energy development and deployment.

Finally, exciting news at The Center for the National Interest: CNI has launched a new blog on its site, Energy World, to cover the collision between energy, technology, climate, and geopolitics. Editors Toni Mikec and Emily Day are managing Energy World so for submission guidelines, check in with them or see the submissions tab in the main menu.

Don’t look now, but we are exactly one-month away from CERA Week, the Houston Energy Super conference. Pitchers and catchers report this week and MLB Spring Training is off and running. The Cubs reported yesterday because they need the extra days!!!

Our trade guys are tracking the new potential tariffs today on steel, aluminum, etc, so call with questions.

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932                                                                                                         

FRANKLY SPOKEN

 “We got a very receptive hearing on the Republican side. We talked about how electricity demand is growing and we need more energy for energy security and national security. And solar and storage is one of the fastest resources we can develop.”

Abigail Hopper, the chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association, to the New York Times for a story focused on President Trump’s funding freeze throwing the U.S. clean energy industry into chaos (with much of the economic damage hitting Republican states and districts).

“We just met with more than a dozen key Republican offices, and I can tell you nobody wants to kill jobs. They don’t want to have to go back and face constituents and tell them that the factory I just cut the ribbon on might not be coming. That’s going to put them in a hard place.”

Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, a nonpartisan group of business leaders and investors, in the same story.

ON THE PODCAST

Reporters Check Agenda in Trump II Energy – This week on the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast, host Jason Bordoff talks with Paul Dabbar about the Trump administration’s energy agenda and its focus on national security and energy affordability. Dabbar, chairman and CEO of Bohr Quantum Technologies and a non-resident fellow at Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy, has spent the last few months leading the efforts of the incoming Trump administration to put together the DOE, after serving as the fourth undersecretary of energy for science during the first Trump administration.

FUN OPINIONS

Chamber: Jobs, Energy Essential on Agenda – In op-ed in USA Today,  US Chamber head Suzanne Clark writes with the right policies, communities can become economically prosperous, welcoming diverse businesses of all sizes, reducing unemployment and building up a base of skilled worker. “We are at an important inflection point, and we are counting on the incoming administration and the 119th Congress to focus on growth. The business community is here to help policymakers get it right.”

Trump’s Clean Energy Opportunity – In an op-ed in The Hill, Robin Gaster, research director of the Center for Clean Energy Innovation at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, writes it’s time for a Trump Clean Energy reset. The primary objective and organizing principle for U.S. clean energy policy should now be getting to price-performance parity. Gaster says we need to focus on developing new technologies that are better than fossil fuels in cost-value terms, without long-term subsidies or mandates. Then and only then will market forces spur a sustainable green transition.

FROG BLOG

Lustgarten: Housing May Be the Next Climate Challenge – In a guest essay in the New York Times, ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten writes home insurance prices are surging around the country as climate change makes weather more extreme and more damaging. “Not long ago, insurance premiums were a modest cost of owning a home, amounting to about 8 percent of an average mortgage payment,” writes Lustgarten. “But insurance costs today are about one-fifth the size of a typical payment, outpacing inflation and even the rate of appreciation on the homes themselves. That makes owning property, on paper anyway, a bad investment.”

FUN FACTS

Sustainable Investing Under Fire: U.S. sustainable fund managers, who saw record outflows from the asset class in 2024. The outflows coincide with fund managers leaving environmentally focused investor groups.

IN THE NEWS

House Passes Fracking Legislation – The House passed H.R. 26, the “Protecting American Energy Production Act,” on Friday to prohibit the president from unilaterally placing a moratorium on the use of fracking. The measure passed by a 226-188 vote, with 16 Democratic lawmakers joining.

AGs Lead Challenge to NY Climate Law – West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is heading a coalition of 22 attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging New York State’s Climate Superfund Act, a recently signed state law attacking America’s energy suppliers. Other states include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. The Act could impose $75 billion of liability on major fossil fuel companies by requiring them to pay into a state “climate Superfund” based on their past greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Superfund Act punishes a group of energy producers for global greenhouse gases emitted from all sources into the atmosphere from 2000 to 2018. The Attorneys General pointed out New York relied on coal, oil and natural gas during that time, keeping the lights on for New York City’s iconic skyscrapers and beyond. The lawsuit points out the law will be devastating to traditional energy producers, including coal producers in West Virginia, leaving them with no other option than to cease operations, resulting in massive job losses.

FERC Shows Renewable Boost – A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by FERC shows that the mix of renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) accounted for more than 90% of total U.S. electrical generating capacity added in 2024. Solar alone accounted for over 81% of the new capacity. Moreover, December was the sixteenth month in a row in which solar was the largest source of new capacity. Key takeaways include Renewables were 86.9% of new generating capacity in December and 90.5% in 2024, solar was 80.1% of new capacity in December and 81.5% during 2024, Solar plus wind are now almost 22% of U.S. utility-scale generating capacity; all renewables combined are 31%,  solar’s share of U.S. generating capacity is now 10x greater than a decade ago while wind’s is more than double and solar’s share of installed U.S. generating capacity is greater than either nuclear power or hydropower.

Texas A&M Hosts Four Nuclear Reactors: ‘US Needs More Power’ – Four small-scale nuclear reactors are to be hosted on Texas A&M University land. CEOs from four nuclear power companies have committed to work with the Texas A&M System to develop prototype and commercial-ready “small modular reactors” (SMRs)—with the first having the potential to be constructed within five years. Smaller than their traditional counterpart, SMRs are designed so that they can be factory-built in parts and assembled at their site of use. They could be particularly useful for remote locations, for industrial applications and powering facilities like data centers. The university says that its accommodation of the reactors will provide the “missing element” needed to bring more nuclear power to Texas.

Congress Full STEAM Ahead on Geothermal – Reps. Maloy (R-UT) and Lee (D-NV) along with Sens. Murkowski (R-AK) and Cortez Masto (D-NV) are reintroducing a bill supporting geothermal permitting reform. The STEAM Act cuts government red tape by giving geothermal projects the same flexibility to explore and develop and expedites the development of geothermal energy by extending a new categorical exclusion for geothermal resource confirmation wells. Reps. Steel (R-CA) and Lee (D-NV) introduced this bipartisan legislation in the House last Congress. “In 2005, the U.S. faced an energy crisis and rightly granted oil and gas a categorical exclusion to produce more energy to meet demand. As the U.S. faces new challenges to meet rising demand, this bill helps achieve parity for 24/7, clean, reliable geothermal power,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath Action. “This legislation is important in unlocking American geothermal energy to support our economy and the environment.”

Baker Hughes: US Rig Activity Picks Up – The US oil and natural gas rig count climbed by four to 586 last week in the first back-to-back weekly increases since July, according to Baker Hughes. Gains were recorded in Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming, Texas and California, while Oklahoma lost two units.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

GreenBiz 2025 Set for Phoenix – GreenBiz 2025 will be held on today to Wednesday in Phoenix, AZ. GreenBiz, the annual gathering of sustainability professionals, RMI will host a panel on how organizations can secure the capital needed to fund decarbonization efforts in line with climate goals, what factors investors and lenders look at when evaluating the climate-related opportunities, and more.

Forum Look at Bulgarian Energy – Today at 4:00 p.m., the Business Council for International Understanding holds a discussion on Bulgaria's evolving energy ecosystem, government priorities, and opportunities for collaboration with U.S. companies.

POLITICO Looks at Energy Demand Issues – Tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. at Union Station’s Columbus Club, POLITICO will convene key leaders for impactful, relevant, and urgent conversations on the future of energy policy. The event feature Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. John Hickenlooper and will Look at how Congress Trump administration representatives, the Department of Energy and FERC will address the surging demand for energy on the electric grid.

House Transpo Looks at Water Permitting – The House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will hold a hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on Clean Water Act permitting and project delivery.

Forum Looks at Insurance Risks – Climate Risk group First Street holds a Forecast meeting event tomorrow about how physical climate risks can have macroeconomic implications.  Last week, they released a major report on insurance risks. 

C2ES Looks at Resilience – The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions holds a webinar discussing resilience hubs tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.  The webinar will introduce resilience hubs, explore how local leaders are deploying these solutions in the region, and launch a new regionally tailored implementation toolkit to help leaders advance hubs in their own communities and organizations. CO Gov. Jared Polis is the Keynote.

House Resources Looks at Offshore Energy, Public Lands – The House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on unleashing American offshore energy. Then at 2:00 p.m., the committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a hearing at 2:00 p.m. on restoring multiple use to revitalize public lands and rural communities.

Senate Environment Looks at USE IT, CCS – The Senate Environment Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. looking at carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technologies.

House Science Looks at National Labs – The House Science, Space and Technology Committee holds a hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. looking at DOE's National Laboratories.

House Energy Looks at AI, Manufacturing – The House Energy Subpanel on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee holds a hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. on AI in Manufacturing.  The hearing will focus on securing American leadership in manufacturing and the next generation of technologies.

USEA Event to Look at Trump Agenda – The US Energy Assn holds its February virtual press briefing on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. on understanding the Trump Energy Agenda. As usual, a panel of senior reporters who cover energy will question a panel of experts, this time on the president's energy plans. The experts include my colleague Scott Segal, NRDC’s Bob Deans and NEMA’s Spencer Pederson. Reporters will include WSJ’s Jennifer Hiller, WaPo’s Even Halper and E&E’s Pete Behr.  

Forum Looks at Livable Cities – The George Washington University and the World Bank hold a Livable and Sustainable Cities Workshop on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The event will target flooding and cities, looking impacts and policies.

RFF Workshop Looks at Costs, Benefits – On Thursday, Resources for the Future (RFF) is hosting a virtual workshop on retrospective analyses of the benefits and costs of specific environmental regulations. The webinar features the presentation of papers examining a variety of rules that affect major industrial sectors.  In addition, the morning session examines possible alternative institutional arrangements to support/promote the effort to embed the practice of retrospective analysis within the agencies. Bracewell’s Jeff Holmstead is among a number of great speakers.

ACCF Hosts Banking Chair French Hill – On Thursday at 1:00 p.m., the ACCF hosts House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill for a conversation on the European Union's evolving and Far-Reaching Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and its Impacts on U.S. Businesses. Hill brings a unique private sector experience and public service to his chairmanship. He served President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Corporate Finance and Secretary of the President’s Economic Policy Council and was a founder, chairman and CEO of Delta Trust & Banking Corporation.

EESI Looks at Budget, Approps Process – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) holds start-of-the-new-Congress briefing series, Climate Camp on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. This briefing will explain the processes, rules, and norms that underpin the budget, reconciliation, and appropriations debates happening right now on Capitol Hill. It will explore the relationship between the presidential budget, annual appropriations, and budget reconciliation. Panelists will describe the different stages of the appropriations cycle and how the process interfaces with other legislative activity on the Hill. The briefing will highlight ways Congressional staff—working both on and off the budget and appropriations committees—can engage with the conversations on fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations, FY2026 appropriations, and budget reconciliation.

IN THE FUTURE

February 17^th – PRESIDENT’s DAY

The Green Ammonia Innovation Ecosystem Forum Set – RMI hosts a webinar on Wednesday February 19^th at 10:00 a.m. to explore innovation within the green ammonia space.  The event highlights large corporate case studies and groundbreaking startups developing low-carbon solutions, such as water electrolysis, plasma-catalytic synthesis, or technologies that can work at much lower temperature and pressure. It also details how entities like RMI’s Third Derivative are accelerating innovation in the field.

Carbon Forum Set – Next week on February 19-20^th, Energy Dialogues hosts energy leaders and carbon experts in San Diego, California for the Carbon Solutions Forum.  The event will explore the path to a lower-carbon energy future and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the sector. Speakers will include for CFR expert David Victor, DOE Carbon official Ashleigh Ross, CARB Rajinda Sohata and many more.

BCSE, BNEF Release Energy Factbook – The Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Bloomberg New Energy Finance will discuss its annual clean energy Factbook on February 19^th at 2:00 p.m. in an embargoed presser. Each year, the Factbook provides comprehensive information and analysis on major energy facts and trends from the previous year. The Factbook includes energy statistics on market growth and contraction and analysis of trends in energy efficiency, natural gas, renewable energy, and other energy segments. The 2025 Factbook will look back on year-on-year dynamics, including the increase in energy demand driven by AI, data centers, and manufacturing, as well as how siting and permitting processes are impacting project development. Energy industry leaders will talk about how their businesses and the U.S. economy adjusted to changing circumstances and answer questions about the report and its findings.  Speakers include BCSE’s Lisa Jacobson, BNEF’s Thomas Rowland-Rees, AGA’s Richard Meyer, ASE’s Paula Glover, NHA’s Malcolm Woolf, Sempra’s Allison Hull and many more.

NAS Panels Look at SCOTUS Decisions on Air – On Friday February 21^st, my Bracewell colleague Jeff Holmstead will be participating in a panel discussion at the National Academies of Science (NAS) to discuss the implications of recent Supreme Court decisions, including Loper Bright, on EPA and other federal agencies responsible for protecting human health and the environment.

Forum Looks at Trump 2.0 Energy – On Friday February 21^st at 11:30 a.m., the GW Security and Sustainability Forum holds a forum that delves into potential risks to the rule of law and administrative governance in the newly elected Trump 2.0 administration, particularly in light of recent Supreme Court rulings affirming presidential immunity for official acts.

Axios to Host STEM Event – On Tuesday February 25^th at 7:30 a.m. in The Showroom, Axios hosts an event convening policy and tech leaders for conversations looking at how the U.S. is working to maintain science and technology leadership in an increasingly competitive global landscape and new era of AI. We’ll discuss the importance of investing in training the next generation of STEM leaders, shoring up scientific education and building the infrastructure necessary for the U.S. to lead in the quest for new discoveries in science and technology. House Science Chair Brian Babin and ranking Dem Zoe Lofgren lead the discussion.

ACORE Holds Policy Forum – The 2025 ACORE Policy Forum is set for February 26^th and 27^th in Washington DC. Topic include rising electricity demand , manufacturing and digital infrastructure buildout, domestic and global clean energy supply chains and permitting roadblocks limiting our ability to deploy critical transmission lines and clean energy projects. The ACORE Policy Forum will be a two-day event for the first time.

CRES to Host Geothermal Exhibition – CRES will host Geothermal House DC MAGMA on March 4^th at Top of the Hill from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. featuring a mix of panels, virtual reality experiences and networking, followed by a reception. MAGMA stand for: Making America Geothermal: Modern Advances.  The event will feature how next generation geothermal can bolster U.S. energy security, creating economic growth and high-quality energy jobs, while providing clean baseload power supported by U.S. supply chains. Geothermal House is a unique, immersive educational experience, featuring live programming, a ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ virtual reality experience, geothermal themed food and drinks, spotlights on the movers and shakers building and funding the future of geothermal energy, and a few surprises in between.

Forum Looks at Trump 2.0- Energy – On March 6^th, the GW Security and Sustainability Forum holds a forum, part three of a series on Trump 2.0.  To discuss, SSF will host one of the most respected voices in sustainability, energy, and societal resilience - Richard Heinberg. Heinberg is a Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute and the author of many award-winning books on energy and the environment.

CERA Week – The Energy Week of all weeks, CERA Week, will be Held on March 10^th to 14^th in Houston.  We will see you at the Starbucks in the Frank Maisano CERA “Office.”

Plastic Recyclers Head to DC for Conference – The Plastics Recycling Conference will take place March 24^th to 26^th at National Harbor, Maryland. The event brings together over 2,600 industry leaders to discuss the latest advancements in plastics recycling. This year’s agenda features sessions on market trends, innovations in sorting and processing technology, and policy developments shaping the industry. Speakers include executives from major brands, policymakers, and sustainability experts tackling challenges like integrating recycled content, scaling advanced recycling, and regulatory and legislative shifts. For the first time, the event will also host a concurrent Textile Recovery Summit, focusing on the intersection of plastics and textile recycling, with discussions on circularity, material innovation, and infrastructure development. This expanded programming highlights the evolving landscape of materials recovery and offers attendees a broader perspective on sustainable solutions.

Third SAFE Summit Set Focused on Critical Minerals, Energy Security – SAFE holds its 3^rd annual SAFE Summit on Tuesday April 1^st and 2^nd.  Speakers include Hyundai CEO José Muñoz, Schneider Electric’s Aamir Paul, ACP’s Jason Grumet and many more. 

EPSA Competitive Power Summit Set – The Electric Power Supply Association holds its Competitive Power Summit on Wednesday April 2^nd at the Grand Hyatt Washington.  Speakers include PJM CEO  Manu Asthana, Vistra CEO Jim Burke, Pennsylvania PUC Chair Steve DeFrank, NY ISO Rich Dewey and many more.