Friends,
Washington was shocked over the weekend by the sudden death of Sen. Lindsay Graham. He was a long-time, influential voice in Washington who was seen as a leader on many policy issues over his career, including energy and foreign policy. He worked to create the U.S. Foundation for International Conservation, helped start the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus and was engaged on issues like carbon pricing and more recently, Carbon tariffs. His willingness to be a broker who brought people together will be missed.
This week, Glomar Minerals, an American seabed minerals company, will launch a major exploration campaign to the Pacific Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) to collect mineral-rich nodules found within the Company’s two CCZ license areas – together the size of Louisiana. The nodules are rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earths – minerals critical to defense, aerospace, energy, and modern manufacturing. The new 75-day research mission will be the first to gather geological and biological samples in UKSR’s second license area – UK2 – in over forty years. This will build on the extensive exploration work already conducted in UK1 since 2015. See a video HERE.
Congress returns this week will a major focus on energy spending bills and the Defense Authorization. There have been rumors that the key Senate permitting negotiators may produce legislation soon, but I am not expecting it this week. Nonetheless, we should all be on the lookout.
Tomorrow, two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees move on a package of bills with the Energy panel focused on a bipartisan effort to streamline regulations for nuclear reactor development while the Environment panel tackles battery recycling and critical mineral bills, alongside several diesel emissions measures. On Wednesday afternoon, Senate Energy has a legislative hearing to move energy legislation including a bipartisan geothermal bill. Also Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee holds a hearing on reforming FEMA to ensure America’s disaster readiness works for the country with former FEMA Commissioner Craig Fugate, the Chamber’s Chuck Chaitovitz and NRECA head Jim Matheson testifying. House T&I and the Senate Environment will hold mark-ups of bipartisan legislation to improve the nation’s water infrastructure and Senate EPW plans to vote week on Interior Department nominee Kevin Lilly to be assistant secretary for fish and wildlife. On Thursday, FERC holds its Monthly Open meeting that will again address reliability standards for large loads.
Events this week include an ABA International Law Section Critical Minerals Conference today and tomorrow addressing legal frameworks governing critical minerals development with the Chamber’s Ruth Demeter on the agenda. Speaking of the U.S. Chamber, it holds the Chemistry Solutions Forum tomorrow with Rep. Gary Palmer as keynote speaker. Then on Wednesday, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s American Energy Abundance Alliance, Fordwell Strategies and Tuli Public Affairs hold an interactive discussion featuring DOE’s Alex Fitzsimmons to examine the scale and pace of data center growth and the significant energy needs accompanying that expansion. Also Wednesday, FCHEA holds a forum on emerging issues and innovations shaping the hydrogen industry’s pathways to maritime applications with Bracewell’s Tim Urban. Finally, stayed tuned for a new natgas LNG report from S&P Global’s Dan Yergin perhaps Friday.
This week the sports action shifts to golf as the 154th British Open at Royal Birkdale in Scotland starts Thursday. This is on the heels over some riveting tennis over the weekend at Wimbledon. Jannik Sinner demonstrated once again why he is the world’s best player by holding off Alexander Zverev to win back-to-back Wimbledon men’s singles titles Sunday while Linda Noskova won the women’s singles championship Saturday knocking out Karolina Muchova in three sets. FIFA Semifinals start tomorrow with France/Spain in Dallas, while Argentina/England meet on Wednesday in Atlanta. Finals next Sunday at MetLife in East Rutherford, NJ.
Call with questions.
Best,
Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
C. (202) 997-5932
FRANKLY SPOKEN
“The United States is not facing an energy resource problem… Infrastructure bottlenecks are preventing American energy from reaching American consumers when they need it most.”
API CEO Mike Sommers
ON THE PODCAST
Cameco’s Isaac Talks Large-Scale Nuclear with S&P Global Podcast – In this edition of the S&P Global’s Energy Evolution podcast, host Dan Testa interviews Grant Isaac, president and COO of Cameco Corp., a uranium mining and production company that is co-owner of Westinghouse Electric. Isaac says the global nuclear industry is making significant improvements in cost and execution when it comes to building new projects and refurbishing existing reactors – and that the pieces are lining up in the US for utilities to invest in new, large nuclear reactors using Westinghouse’s AP1000 design.
Energy Switch Debates Wind, Solar – In this week’s Energy Switch, the focus in on conflicting information about solar and wind energy. Dan Kammen, energy scientist from Johns Hopkins, and Robert Bryce, energy author and journalist, debate.
FUN OPINIONS
EPA Delaying HFCs Won’t Lower Grocery Climate – In an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, AHRI’s Steve Yurek argues that EPA action to delay the refrigerant phase out undermines industry certainty. American manufacturers are investing heavily in domestic production. And it does so based on claims that do not match the agency’s own economic analysis. A recent White House – EPA political dog-and-pony show in the Oval Office with grocery store CEOs suggested the delay could Lower grocery prices, but Yurek says that won’t happen; in fact, delays will Only increase prices and allow cheap foreign imports.
Szabo: EPA Ending Overly Burdensome Regs – In a recent Hill op-ed, EPA assistant administrator Aaron Szabo writes said this Administration is focused on significant proposals and actions to bring certainty back to industry and choice back to American families. We have done this while simultaneously following the law and furthering the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.
FROG BLOG
SAFE: Iran’s Broken Deal Hurst Energy Dominance – In an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, SAFE CEO Avery Ash argues that the speed of the collapse of the Iran Conflict cease fire holds a more important lesson than the events themselves: oil dependence structurally constrains American options in ways that no level of domestic production can fix. The speed of the collapse holds a lesson for policymakers, but more essential for Washington to understand is the flawed energy policy assumption that led us here.
The assumption is that surging oil production as a central pillar of energy dominance solves our fundamental energy security dilemma.
Iran Conflict Changes World View on Oil – In a new post on Foreign Policy, IEA head Fatih Birol writes confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has been “shattered.” Birol says government leaders and heads of companies tell him the prevailing view is that there is no going back to the way things were before the war began on Feb. 28. He adds seismic changes are underway in the global energy landscape.
FUN FACTS
China Fossil Fuel Use Booming: The history of China’s consumption of fossil fuels, from 1965 to 2025. Although as a share of total energy, fossil fuels have seen a decline, in absolute terms (in tons of coal, barrels of oil, and cubic meters of gas) demand set an all-time high last year.
IN THE NEWS
Glomar Minerals to Survey, Collect Pacific Ocean Deep Sea Minerals – Glomar Minerals, an American seabed minerals company, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary UK Seabed Resources Limited (UKSR) will embark on its fourth major exploration campaign to the Pacific Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) on July 18. Nodules found within the Company’s two CCZ license areas – together the size of Louisiana – are rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earths – minerals critical to defense, aerospace, energy, and modern manufacturing. The new 75-day research mission will be the first to gather geological and biological samples in UKSR’s second license area – UK2 – in over forty years. This will build on the extensive exploration work already conducted in UK1 since 2015. Chris Williams, CEO of Glomar Minerals said:
“This marks the start of our sampling campaign in UK2, but US historical data shows this to be one of the most promising areas for mineral resources anywhere in the Pacific. Combined with our 10 years of research in UK1, we are proud to be building one of the largest and most advanced seabed minerals projects in the world.”
By gathering both resource and environmental data on a single campaign, the Company continues to build the integrated dataset required to advance toward commercial recovery and bring polymetallic nodules to market responsibly. The environmental data collected will contribute to ongoing efforts to understand and minimize the potential impacts of future nodule recovery. Findings from this expedition will be shared through peer-reviewed publications and public databases, reinforcing Glomar Minerals’ commitment to transparency and independent science. In May 2026, Glomar Minerals announced Project Infinity, a consortium agreement with Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited (ASX: COB) to build a domestic critical minerals processing facility in the United States. Project Infinity, which has narrowed to four finalist sites across Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas, is designed to refine polymetallic nodules and terrestrial cobalt into market-ready materials, creating an integrated value chain for seabed minerals while supporting a secure supply chain of critical minerals. Nodule samples collected during this campaign will feed directly into processing design work for Project Infinity, an early but vital step toward reducing U.S. reliance on foreign-controlled critical mineral supply chains. In conjunction with the continued advancement of Project Infinity, a domestic processing facility designed to refine 200,000 tpa of polymetallic nodules and 7,500 tpa of cobalt hydroxide, this campaign marks a significant milestone in Glomar Minerals’ path toward vertical integration – pairing the resource with the refining.
See a video on Glomar Minerals HERE.
Renewables Helped Keep the Lights On During Heatwave – ACP released an analysis focused on the peak heatwaves in the US from July 28–30, 2025, with extreme temperatures concentrated across the Central and Eastern regions and little overnight relief. The event tied or broke temperature records and drove electricity prices in regions with less renewable generation well above typical July levels. As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, they place increasing pressure on electricity demand for cooling. This tightens available supply, requires higher-cost generation to meet demand, and heightens risks to grid reliability. The heatwave clearly demonstrated which systems perform best under pressure – those with a diverse mix of power plants. Key Takeaways:
Overall, clean energy saved the grid more than $114 million during the 3-day heatwave. Wholesale electricity markets with significant wind, solar, and energy storage representation saw lower electricity prices than those without.
Regions with high clean power penetration kept electricity prices low during the heatwave. When the heatwave hit, more expensive thermal units and imported electricity were required.
If clean power hadn’t been online, all of ERCOT’s thermal capability would have been needed and may not have been enough to meet electricity demand.
Offshore Wind Outperformed in Heatwave as well – South Fork Wind generated reliable power during this past week’s heatwave, delivering electricity when Long Island’s grid needed it most over the July 4 long weekend. South Fork Wind performance over the four-day heat wave:
The farm demonstrated ~98% overall availability to generate power across the entire 4 days.
There were no times during which the farm was unavailable to generate power.
Over the heatwave it contributed ~10GW to the LI grid.
During the hottest stretch of the summer so far (July 1-4), South Fork Wind ran at an average capacity factor of 74.7%. That includes a capacity factor of nearly 90% on July 2, the day that New York’s independent grid operator (NYISO) issued an energy watch due to a decline in operating margins.
Remember a new natural gas plant operates around 58%capacity
South Fork Wind delivered nearly 10 gigawatt-hours of electricity to Long Island’s grid across those four days, providing New Yorkers with reliable, locally generated energy during peak-demand windows.
Holtec Could Restart Palisades Soon – A new era in the U.S. nuclear energy industry could begin in Michigan soon as Holtec, an experienced plant-decommissioning company, plans to restart the Palisades Nuclear plant along Lake Michigan. The restart — a first of its kind in the U.S. — may offer a blueprint for other potential nuclear revivals nationwide. Our friend Alexander Kaufman reports in Canary that the next reactor set to patch onto the U.S. grid could be mere months away. Holtec says it had reached a “watershed moment” by completing all major renovations for its reconstruction of the Palisades plant’s single 800-megawatt reactor. While the checklist of 5,000 remaining maintenance issues sounds long, Holtec compared the outstanding workload to that for a routine refueling outage at an operational plant.
ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
ABA to Looks at Critical Minerals – The American Bar Association holds its International Law Section Critical Minerals Conference today and tomorrow. The program will address legal frameworks governing critical minerals development across jurisdictions; bilateral and plurilateral supply chain partnerships and their legal architecture; trade policy, downstream industrial production, and the legal implications of friend-shoring and market fragmentation; and national security and political risk considerations in foreign investment, M&A and project financing. The Chamber’s expert Ruth Demeter speaks.
Chamber Chem Solutions Forum Set – The U.S. Chamber holds its Chemistry Solutions Forum tomorrow. This event will feature expert voices from Congress, the Administration, and industry to discuss the most important issues and innovation within the chemical value chain. Rep. Gary Palmer is a keynote speaker.
Senate Energy Dems, Labor Focus on Clean Energy, Job – Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., Senate Minority Members of the Energy Committee are hosting a roundtable at the Capitol with labor groups to discuss policies that support clean energy and related manufacturing jobs.
House Transpo/Infrastructure Look at Water Legislation – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hold a markup tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. featuring several pieces of legislation, including the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (WRDA).
House Energy Subpanel Marks Up Bipartisan Nuclear Bill – Tomorrow at 10:15 a.m., the House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee holds a markup of nuclear energy bills.
Forum Look at Summer Heat – The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace holds a virtual discussion on summer heatwaves in 2026 focusing on environmental issues. Carnegie Endowment Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics’ Noah Gordon and Sarah Labowitz, and journalists Molly Taft of WIRED and David Wallace Wells of the New York Times hold an online discussion about this hot, dry, American summer.
House Oversight to Look at AI, Energy – The House Oversight and Government Reform Energy Policy Subpanel holds a roundtable tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. on economic competition with China with AI and energy.
House Energy Subpanel Marks up Bipartisan Energy Bills – The House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee holds a markup tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. of seven bills focused on energy issues.
Summit to Focus on Maritime Issues – The Defense Strategies Institutes holds its 2nd Annual Maritime Security Summit on Wednesday and Thursday. The Summit brings together members of the DoW, USCG, Port Security Executives and Marine Technical Solutions Providers to discuss current efforts toward integrating emerging capabilities, tools and technologies in support of maritime dominance and sustained readiness. This forum will also address the importance of leveraging alliances/partnerships to enhance overall Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) for our nation’s coastlines, ports and vessels.
BCSE Talks Data Center Growth – On Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., the Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s American Energy Abundance Alliance, Fordwell Strategies and Tuli Public Affairs hold an interactive discussion examining the scale and pace of data center growth and the significant energy needs accompanying that expansion. This event will bring together leaders from across the energy sector and the data center industry, to focus on how partnerships can help meet rising demand while advancing reliability, affordability, and sustainability goals.
House Transportation Looks at Preparedness, Disaster Mitigation – The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will holds a hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. on reforming FEMA to ensure America’s disaster readiness works for the country. Witnesses include former FEMA Commissioner Craig Fugate, the Chamber’s Chuck Chaitovitz, NRECA head Jim Matheson, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng (on behalf of the National Association of Counties) and Brian Waller of the Shelter Mutual Insurance Company.
Senate Environment Looks at WRDA, Lilly Nom – The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a business meeting to consider the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, as well as the nomination of Kevin Lilly to be Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife.
House China Committee to Focus on Innovation Protection – The House Select Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Committee holds a hearing on protecting American innovation by focusing on Federal Research security enterprises.
Hydrogen Forum Focuses on Maritime Fuels – FCHEA continues its Circuits webinar series highlighting the emerging issues and innovations shaping the hydrogen industry on Wednesday at Noon to explore the various pathways hydrogen and fuel cells are being integrated into maritime applications. Speakers will provide an overview of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) decarbonization targets, and the technical and infrastructure advancements and challenges associated with deployment. The conversation will also highlight real-world demonstrations and the importance of partnerships between industry, governments, and other stakeholders in accelerating adoption. Bracewell’s Tim Urban moderates a panel of experts.
Senate Energy to Hold Mark up on Energy, Geothermal Legislation – The Senate Energy Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. to receive testimony on pending energy legislation. See the list of bills here.
FERC Open Meeting Set to Address Large Loads, Reliability Standards – FERC holds its July Monthly meeting on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and while it won’t carry as much weight as last month’s meeting, it will again address reliability standards for large loads.
Academies Report on Extreme Weather Climate Expected – The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is hosting a webinar on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. to release its report about efforts to link extreme weather events to climate change. Members of a NASEM panel that prepared the report will discuss its findings and recommendations, including advances in attribution science, research priorities and approaches for extending science to data-limited regions. Expect pushback from some scientists that haven;;t agreed and Congressional Republicans on the issue.
NRDC, EESI Focus on Nitrogen, Agriculture Impacts – On Thursday at Noon, EESI and NRDC hold an online briefing about tracking and reducing agricultural nitrous oxide, a key component in fertilizer. This briefing will showcase findings from a new research roadmap that identifies opportunities for measuring and reducing agricultural nitrous oxide emissions. Panelists will pinpoint areas of innovation, as well as opportunities for reducing uncertainty, improving accuracy, bringing down costs for farmers, and reducing nitrogen loss from fields. Remarks from Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL).
IN THE FUTURE
Global CCS Report to Be Released – The Global CCS Institute holds a webinar on Thursday June 23rd to unpack the key findings from the Institute’s flagship publication, State of the Art: CCS Technologies 2026. This edition of the annual compendium highlights over 180 solutions from more than 80 leading companies, showcasing the breadth of technologies driving the momentum of CCS globally. This session will cover the forthcoming Editor’s Insights Technology Compendium companion piece, highlighting a set of key observations identified by the editors during the compilation process. To be released in July, this companion piece covers the key themes the Editors have distilled from submissions to the Technology Compendium.
FERC Technical Conference Set – FERC holds its technical conference focused on actionable reforms to PJM’s stakeholder process and governance will be held on July 23rd. The conference will look to identify and evaluate reforms to improve PJM’s ability to address operational and market needs in a timely and efficient manner.
Forum to Look at Shipbuilding Alliance – The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) Asia Program holds a forum on Wednesday July 28th at 11:00 a.m. that includes a discussion on forging new industrial partnerships between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul, and prospects for maritime technology cooperation in confronting China’s overwhelming shipbuilding capacity.
CEN Sets Energy Summit for Boston – Conservative Energy Network at the third annual National Conservative Energy Summit on August 3rd to 5th in Boston, MA. This event gathers local, state, and federal policymakers, industry leaders, and grassroots advocates from across the country to explore the future of energy policy in America.
CA Energy Conference Set – Advance Energy United holds a California-based Energy and Policy Summit on August 11th in Sacramento. In the summit’s opening fireside chat, the leaders of California’s energy agencies, California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild and California Public Utilities Commission President John Reynolds, will cover affordability, where the state needs to focus its attention, and what challenges and decisions will be front and center for the next Administration.