Here we Go Again with Offshore Wind, Rolling into the Holidays

Friends,

 

Happy Holidays!!!  As we end Hannukah and begin the Christmas and New Year’s Weeks, we celebrate both by turning the corner on Winter! Yesterday was the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year – meaning we will add at least one minute of daylight each day until June.

 

We are all ready to take a nice break to reset after a CRAZY 2025 year. While we were rolling through last week’s permitting, EU Methane, another potential offshore wind issue and other action big actions outside of energy issues, I got an early start allowing me to report this last Update of 2025 from my Cancun office. 

Nothing like starting the week with the Interior Department saying they are pausing all offshore wind leasing due to non-existent national security concerns even after entering agreements with several companies already and a court separately telling them their previous OSW decisions were arbitrary and capricious.   

 

National security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole Kirk Lippold has questioned the administration’s national security claims before. Here are his thoughts on this latest action:

 

Halting fully permitted projects under construction diminishes U.S. credibility on matters related both to national security and safeguarding investment. Permits for the offshore wind projects halted today were awarded following years of review by state and federal agencies that include the Coast Guard, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Air Force, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Aviation Administration. The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process.

 

Ironically, these projects will actually benefit our national security by diversifying America’s energy supplies, providing much-needed reliable power for the grid, and helping our economy. The port investments and boost to shipbuilding already driven by offshore wind development alone have a significant positive national security impact.

 

Regulatory stability enhances investment—particularly in large-scale, capital-intensive energy infrastructure projects. Those who have spent years planning, investing, and building offshore wind infrastructure now face unknown legal and regulatory challenges based on a vague government pronouncement. This unpredictability will drive more capital and innovation out of the United States, and unfortunately, into the hands of China - a technological leader in a field being slowly surrendered by the U.S.

 

Offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward executive director Hillary Bright is available to discuss these issues as well.  Her comment:

 

Each one of the offshore wind projects suspended today is fully permitted, nearly complete, and positioned to deliver much-needed power to regions already struggling to keep up with rising electricity demand. They also represent tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment that has employed thousands of workers to date. Pausing these projects creates significant risk to America’s energy-intensive economy.

 

America’s energy future must be shaped by an ‘everything-that-works’ approach that provides certainty for investors and protects our ability to meet rapidly growing power demand. Suspending legitimate permits approved after years of rigorous consultation with expert federal agencies—including the Department of War—does nothing to advance our country’s long-term economic or energy security.

 

Independent data and third-party research clearly shows that offshore wind is essential to meeting coastal electricity needs. The projects ‘paused’ today will help maintain grid reliability as coastal states face rising demand from data centers and electrification. The U.S. Government must move quickly to clear the way for these much-needed utility-scale sources of electricity and allow them to continue their path toward strengthening the resilience of our nation’s power system.

 

One other interesting story this morning: The Washington Free Beacon has an interesting piece on the agreement between French nuclear company Orano – who is pursuing taxpayer-funds for uranium production here in the US – while entering strategic agreements with state-owned Chinese nuclear power.  Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. is not happy about it:

 

"Department of Energy grants should not be used to develop Communist China's nuclear industry. Companies tied to the Chinese military should never see a cent of American taxpayer dollars."

 

Nothing else on the schedule for the next two weeks, but take note of the all the industry support for the Westerman permitting effort from last week in the “News” and see AGA’s Karen Harbert discussing it in an opinion piece in RealClearEnergy. And for sure mark your calendar for Wednesday January 7th when the US Chamber holds its rescheduled Capitol Hill Day of Action on permitting.  Expect a morning forum, Press Conference and Capitol Hill visits in the afternoon.

 

And since you have the Calendar out, make sure you are marking down API’s State of American Energy on Tuesday January 13th; AEI’s all-day forum on powering prosperity in the new electricity economy and RFF’s annual keystone Big Decisions on Wednesday January 14th; the US Chamber’s annual State of American Business event and AGA’s 2026 State of American Natural Gas Policy Outlook at it DC office on Thursday January 15th.  Finally, also on Thursday the 15th US Energy Assn holds its flagship forum State of the Energy Industry brings together CEOs from Washington's leading energy trade associations to discuss 2026.

 

Get you rest and enjoy your time with family and friends.  Wishing you all a happy New Year and we’ll see you all in 2026. Call with any questions.

 

Best,

 

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

                                                                                                                                              

FRANKLY SPOKEN

   

“We're in a situation where we need every electron we can get, and there's bias against renewables. It's time to get over it. We want the United States to dominate.”

 

              Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) following the House Permitting legislation vote.

 

ON THE PODCAST

 

Volts Talks Energy with Gallego – I know I posted Dave Roberts podcast on Western Energy Markets las week, but this week, his new Volts Podcast is with Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who made news recently by rolling out an energy plan that seems aimed at attracting bipartisan support.  So I thought it was definitely worth it give Roberts/Volts the spot two weeks in a row, Dave and Sen. Gallego discuss his new energy plan, which combines elements of the Inflation Reduction Act with a new focus on permitting reform and small modular nuclear reactors. We get into all of it, from the promise of nuclear energy to the role community consultation.

 

Energy is Answer to Solve Poverty – On this week’s episode of The Liberal Patriot podcast, host Ruy Teixeira talks with geologist and energy expert Scott Tinker about why affordable, reliable energy is the foundation of human progress. We examine energy poverty, the limits of renewables, and why many climate policies collide with physics, economics, and lived reality—especially for the world’s poorest people. From 2000-2024, Tinker was Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and State Geologist of Texas. He is currently CEO of Tinker Energy Associates and executive producer and host of PBS Energy Switch, an energy and climate talk series appearing in over 100 million households nationwide.

 

FUN OPINIONS

 

RNG Can Reduce Trucking Costs, Improve Affordability – In an op-ed in Agri-Pulse, OPAL Fuels CEO Adam Comora writes Americans are facing higher costs across the board, and practical, innovative energy solutions are urgently needed. He adds, leveraging America’s most strategic and low-cost energy asset – domestically produced natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) produced from existing waste — as a low-cost fuel for heavy duty trucking will lower the cost of transporting goods and will result in lower prices for consumer goods across the board, including food on grocery store shelves and toys during Christmas. This move increases affordability for all Americans.

 

Transmission Policy Can Lower Electricity Costs – In an opinion piece in RTO Insider, experts Travis Fisher of the Cato Institute and C3’s Nick Loris explain how expanding transmission can lower electricity costs—if new investments are guided by consumer affordability rather than politics or utility incentives. America has the capital, engineering expertise, and entrepreneurial talent to build a world-class transmission system. What it lacks is a regulatory framework that consistently asks whether new investment makes electricity bills more affordable.

 

FROG BLOG

 

AGA: Affordability Driven by NatGas – In a post in Real Clear Energy, AGA head Karen Harbert writes as we face an unprecedented opportunity to shape America’s economic future, we can reshore American manufacturing, take the lead on an AI revolution and establish a foundation for the most robust and secure economy our nation has ever seen. She adds we must leverage America’s core competitive advantage – our vast domestic energy supplies - and commit to building essential energy infrastructure to meet this substantive demand growth.

 

Solution Exist for Data Centers, Moratorium is a Bad Idea – In a C3 blog post, freelance writer and political commentator Adrian Norman says a coalition of environmental groups calling for a national moratorium on data center construction is bad policy. While rapid growth of data centers raises real challenges around energy use, water management, and community impacts, those issues merit thoughtful oversight rather than dismissal. Freezing development nationwide would trade targeted solutions for a sweeping ban, undermining innovation and investment at a moment when digital infrastructure is increasingly central to economic growth and national security.

 

FUN FACTS

 

IEA: Coal Peaking? Depends on China: IEA says global coal use has hit a ceiling and may begin a slow decline over the next five years as renewables and liquefied natural gas gain ground. Demand is expected to edge up 0.5% this year to a record 8,845 million tons before slipping 3% by 2030.But it all really depends on what China does. IEA notes that lower renewable energy dispatch or an acceleration in coal gasification projects could turn the slight drop into a small increase.

 

IN THE NEWS

 

House Passes Westerman Permitting Legislation – With 11 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to support House Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman's signature legislation that would ease federal permitting rules and litigation. The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776) is a critical step toward modernizing a federal permitting system that has slowed infrastructure development, raised costs, and strained America’s ability to meet rapidly growing energy demand. Ahead of the vote, supporters defeated two Republican amendments by wide, 200-vote margins. One would make it harder for people or groups to sue against projects. Another would have "further" defined what significant effects would trigger an environmental impact statement. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, who caused a stir over the Rule with his opposition to including offshore wind, withdrew his two amendments to block and exempt offshore wind (likely knowing they would get even less votes than Rep. Chip Roy’s efforts). The effort now moves to the Senate where key bipartisan groups of Senators are already discussing a Senate response.  Below are a round of statements of folks I work closely with.  Since offshore wind was a major discussion point with amendments, I start with Turn Forward’s Hillary Bright.

 

Offshore Wind Advocacy group Turn Forward Executive Hillary Bright:

 

“Permitting delays remain one of the greatest obstacles to advancing U.S. energy projects that are essential to meeting the unprecedented demand on our nation’s electrical grid. The Senate now has a critical opportunity to advance permitting reform and deliver the certainty needed to unlock investment and accelerate large-scale energy development.

 

“We thank Chairman Westerman and Representative Golden for their work to advance the permitting discussion in a bipartisan and technology-neutral manner. While it is unfortunate that last minute language was added to the SPEED Act that would harm fully permitted offshore wind projects, we trust those issues will be resolved as the legislation moves forward in the Senate.

 

“America faces skyrocketing energy demand. Offshore wind projects offer a proven way to provide utility-scale power to densely populated areas where a diversity of resources is needed to avoid grid disruptions and rising utility costs. Now is the time to bring more viable, scalable, American sources of energy online.”

 

Marty Durbin, President of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute:

 

“The passage of the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776) marks a significant step toward strengthening America’s ability to build, invest, and compete. We commend the House of Representatives for prioritizing policies that enable growth and thank Chairman Bruce Westerman and Rep. Jared Golden for their leadership. As the focus now shifts to the Senate, we encourage lawmakers to carry this momentum forward and deliver a comprehensive bipartisan solution. The faster Congress delivers meaningful permitting reform, the sooner we can unlock American investment and economic growth.”

 

Ahead of the vote, the Chamber issued a Key Vote Letter and led a coalition of more than 80 organizations from across the economy urging lawmakers to support the SPEED Act.

 

API President and CEO Mike Sommers:

 

“We applaud the House for advancing the SPEED Act, a bipartisan, commonsense step toward fixing a federal permitting system that’s long been broken. By modernizing NEPA and reducing duplicative reviews and litigation, this bill restores certainty and helps unlock the infrastructure needed to deliver affordable, reliable energy and meet growing demand. We thank Chairman Westerman and Representative Golden for their leadership, and we look forward to working with the Senate to deliver the permitting relief America urgently needs.”

 

The Natural Gas Council:

 

The Natural Gas Council thanks the U.S. House of Representatives for making progress towards permitting reform with the passage of several bills addressing the issue over the last week, including H.R. 4776, Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition vs. Eagle County, has helped to streamline the scope of reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and we are encouraged to see the House seize that momentum by passing the SPEED Act, which would codify the Seven County changes, and other proposals that would reform the Clean Water Act to expedite permitting processes for natural gas infrastructure.

 

To ensure a reliable, affordable, and sustainable future, the Natural Gas Council and the companies we represent encourage the Senate to move quickly next year to approve a permitting reform package that provides certainty in the permitting process and improves reviews for all energy projects to achieve the central objective of advancing American energy dominance.

 

ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer:

 

“The House’s passage of the SPEED Act is a much-needed step in the right direction of permitting reform. For decades, NEPA has been weaponized to slow down or stop the projects that strengthen our economy, improve infrastructure, and help manage the land and energy resources Americans rely on every day. The bipartisan legislation passed today will bring greater clarity and accountability to the review process, cut unnecessary delays, and help projects move forward while reaffirming the intent of environmental reviews. We thank RCC member Chairman Westerman for his leadership on this issue and look forward to Senate action on this bill, as well as others, and continuing the momentum to modernize our federal permitting system.”

 

Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President and CEO Heather Reams:

 

We applaud Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) for their leadership in advancing this critical legislation. By delivering common sense National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reforms, the SPEED Act will streamline reviews, reduce frivolous litigation, accelerate the build-out of clean energy projects and ensure America remains competitive in the global energy race,. While we are concerned that post committee additions to the bill could put the certainty of a range of projects at risk, this bill’s underlying reforms are critical to advancing American energy. We are hopeful the Senate will endorse these reforms to NEPA, build upon the work in the House and find a bipartisan solution that accelerates project development in a technology neutral fashion to support all forms of American energy.”

 

EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney:

 

“The House passage of the Speed Act is an important first step toward cutting red tape, lowering customer costs, and delivering reliable, affordable electricity to American families and businesses. At a time of unprecedented electricity demand, our outdated permitting processes can no longer stand in the way of unleashing American energy dominance. We value Chairman Westerman’s leadership and urge the Senate to take the next step on this common-sense legislation that will help provide relief for customers and support the energy infrastructure that powers the American economy.”

 

“We will also continue to work to make America’s permitting system more predictable and more durable for all forms of energy, and to bring more electrons on the grid. We look forward to working with lawmakers on practical, bipartisan solutions to ensure that America's most important machine—the energy grid—works reliably every day for families, businesses, and local communities.”

 

FERC Tackles Co-Location Issues – Also on last Thursday, FERC finally weighed into the discussion around power for data centers. FERC issued an order directing PJM to establish transparent rules to facilitate service of AI-driven data centers and other large loads co-located with generating facilities. Following the initiation of a show cause proceeding in February 2025, FERC found that PJM’s current tariff is unjust and unreasonable because it lacks sufficient clarity and consistency concerning the rates, terms, and conditions of service that apply to generators serving co-located Load and customers taking transmission service on behalf of co-located load. To rectify these issues, FERC directed PJM to file revised tariff provisions establishing three new types of transmission service in PJM:

 

Firm Contract Demand transmission service; and

Allows a customer to have the same reservation and curtailment priority as existing firm transmission services, but is not permitted to withdraw energy from the transmission system beyond the contract demand level.

Non-Firm Contract Demand transmission service.

Allows a customer to withdraw energy from the transmission system when transmission capacity is available but not needed by firm customers.

Interim, Non-Firm Transmission Service that only transmission customers seeking Network Integration Transmission Service (“NITS”) may request;

Intended to allow a customer seeking NITS to receive non-firm service until all transmission network upgrades necessary to provide NITS are complete

 

Although this order incorporates many of the same principles outlined in the pending ANOPR on Large Load Interconnections (including expediting interconnection, cost allocation mechanisms, and more flexible transmission service), this is a separate and distinct proceeding and FERC is still required to act consistent with the April 30, 2026 deadline associated with the ANOPR proceeding. Also, this order applies only to PJM at this point. It is possible that similar reforms may be implemented in other RTO/ISOs (either through the ANOPR or other proceedings), but the current order is limited only to PJM.

 

Global Carbon Rating Group Upgrades Gevo Nort Dakota Facility to Top Rating – BeZero Carbon Ltd., a preeminent global carbon rating agency, has upgraded its rating for the Gevo North Dakota ethanol to jet facility that has carbon capture and storage to an “A” rating. Gevo is a pioneer in the voluntary carbon markets focused on the production and delivery of carbon dioxide removal certificates, known as CORCs under the high-integrity Puro.earth standard. The Gevo ND facility is the largest producer of technology-based carbon dioxide removal credits and is the only ethanol carbon capture and storage project to issue credits for thousand-year permanence, under Puro.earth’s “Geologically Stored Carbon” methodology. GND sources most of its corn feedstock from within 75 miles of the facility and will be leveraging Verity, a Gevo-developed carbon-tracking platform for upstream agriculture measurement, reporting, and verification to document sustainable agriculture practices, create transparency in agricultural value chains, and provide tools for land assessment.

 

New Gevo CEO Starting a Carbon Management Officer – Speaking of Carbon Management and Gevo, its new CEO Paul Bloom, who will transition to the top job in April, started with the company as it Chief Carbon Officer making him the first leader to move directly from running carbon management into the CEO role of a publicly traded energy and fuels company. It’s a rare example of carbon policy expertise translating straight into corporate leadership at a time when carbon management, low-carbon fuels and industrial decarbonization are moving from theory to deployment. Bloom’s background also highlights the growing importance of carbon management as a cost-reduction tool. Technologies like carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration are increasingly essential to lowering production costs for fuels and industrial products, maintaining competitiveness, and unlocking private investment — even as federal policy attention and support for carbon management has waned in parts of Washington. His appointment underscores how industry is moving ahead with carbon solutions driven by economics and scale, not just regulation. Gevo continues to highlight the role of carbon markets for lower the cost impacts of its jet fuel so it can be cost competitive.

New BP Head Focused on Production – Speaking of new leaders, BP has named Meg O'Neill as its next CEO, succeeding Murray Auchincloss, who has held the role for less than two years. The move reflects BP's fourth CEO transition in just six years. O'Neill, who comes from LNG company Woodside Energy, has built a reputation for prioritizing oil/gas development and production and consensus expects her to return BP to its oil and gas roots.

 

Interior Solar Thaw? – The Interior Department advanced a solar project for the first time since July. BLM approved key amendments (like road rerouting) for the $2.3B, 1.4 GW Libra solar + storage project in Nevada, marking the first time the agency advanced any utility-scale solar since the summer, when Sec. Doug Burgum imposed "elevated reviews" that paralyzed development. The move ends a nervous standoff for the industry and could lead to the start of construction next month. Developers are hoping this signals a return to business as usual for the 500+ projects currently at risk of delay.

 

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK AND NEXT

 

As our friends at POLITICO say…CRICKETS 

 

December 25 – Christmas Day

 

January 1 – New Year's Day

 

IN THE FUTURE

 

Chamber Permitting Forum, Hill Day Reset – With the House passage of permitting legislation in the books, the Chamber of Commerce will hold its Permit America to Build Legislative Day of Action on Wednesday January 7th on Capitol Hill in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The event will feature a forum, press event and visits to House and Senate offices.  The event will build on the momentum of House passage and push for broader Senate action to pass bipartisan, comprehensive permitting reform—so America can meet rising energy demand, build resilient infrastructure, and unleash innovation.

 

API Holds State of Energy Event – The American Petroleum Institute holds its annual 2026 State of American Energy forum on Tuesday January 13, 2026 at The Anthem starting at 8:00 a.m.

 

AEI Holds Key Electricity Demand Event – The American Enterprise Institute holds an all-day forum on Wednesday January 14th on powering prosperity in the new electricity economy. This conference with experts from academia, government, and industry will seek answers, addressing issues such as the role of renewable energy in meeting demand, distributed solutions that bring power closer to customers, and new ways to finance the trillions in capital investment required to build the new electricity economy. Among the speakers include our friends Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies, Christi Tezak  of ClearView Energy and NRG’s Travis Kavulla.

  

RFF Hosts Former OMB Head – Resources for the Future (RFF) on Wednesday, January 14th for Big Decisions, its annual keystone event analyzing anticipated federal and state actions. The event will begin with a fireside chat between RFF President and CEO Billy Pizer and Lazard CEO and Chairman Peter Orszag, former director of the US Office of Management and Budget. The fireside chat will be followed by a panel of experts discussing key drivers of the policy conversation, such as energy affordability and demand growth, as well as looming decisions on regulations and the endangerment finding by the Trump administration, legislative discussions on permitting, and more. Questions from the audience for the panel may be submitted in advance

 

Chamber Sets State of American Business – The US Chamber holds Its annual State of American Business event on Thursday January 15th at the Chamber HQ.  Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark hosts key leaders from different sectors and certainly energy is likely to a major topic. 

 

AGA Talks 2026 NatGas Outlook –The American Gas Assn holds its 2026 State of American Natural Gas Policy Outlook at it DC office on Thursday January 15th at 11:00 a.m. In addition to the year outlook, AGA will introduce its new Chair.

 

USEA Hosts State of Energy Industry – The US Energy Assn hold its flagship forum State of the Energy Industry on Thursday January 15th at 1:00 p.m. in the Ronald Reagan Trade Center. The event brings together CEOs from Washington's leading energy trade associations to collaboratively outline their current policy objectives and priorities for the upcoming year.

 

Power Conference Set  for Texas – POWERGEN 2026 is set for Tuesday January 20th to Thursday the 22nd at the Henry Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, TX. The event will look at powering the data center boom. Load growth has become the defining challenge for the power generation industry. From utilities and IPPs to EPCs and OEMs, every stakeholder is racing to deliver new capacity and POWERGEN will be where all aspects are discussed.