WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! The White House correspondent’s dinner weekend is in full swing, with festivities scheduled to take place through Sunday. Our team is looking forward to getting together and celebrating our hard-working colleagues and peers.
Before we let you all go for the weekend, this edition of Daily on Energy dives into remarks made by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum today. During a Semafor event this morning, the secretary revealed why he believes losing the AI race to China is a greater threat than global warming.
A major offshore wind developer has announced its plans to end its activities in the U.S., because of the Trump administration. Plus, keep reading to find out how many rigs were added to the U.S. fleet this week.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). 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, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: In order to keep energy costs affordable for consumers and maintain reliability for the national grid, former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee is advising both Republicans and Democrats to adjust their positioning on different sources of energy.
“On the political left, there’s got to be a realization that we cannot possibly win the AI race and keep prices affordable and reliable for Americans without fossil fuels,” Chatterjee told Axios this week. “On the political right, there needs to be a recognition that we cannot possibly win the AI race with fossil fuels alone, that we’re going to need every available electron.”
BURGUM SAYS LOSING AI RACE IS BIGGER THREAT THAN GLOBAL WARMING: Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum advocated increased use of fossil fuels to power artificial intelligence advancements, calling losing to China in the race for artificial intelligence arms the current biggest “existential threat” to the United States.
The details: Burgum’s warning came during Semafor‘s World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C., this morning, where he emphasized the administration’s stance on securing more base-load power. The secretary said the U.S. risks letting China get ahead on AI if it continues following past administrations’ strategies of focusing on the accelerated phaseout of fossil fuels such as coal and spending on renewable energy.
He said the pursuit of clean energy also puts Americans at a higher risk of grid failure, as renewables and battery storage technologies have yet to meet growing energy demand. Burgum said this is a greater risk than that posed by global warming, which is fueled by carbon and methane emissions that can be traced back to the burning of fossil fuels.
Key quote: “Part of that destabilization, again, is this massive investment that we’ve made in intermittent … in some of the same mistakes that Britain, Germany and others have made with the idea … built around a premise that the biggest existential threat to the world is a degree of temperature change in 2100,” Burgum said.
“When the real existential threat that we’re facing is perhaps around getting a nuclear weapon or losing the AI arms race to China,” he continued.
Slamming renewables: Burgum echoed the president’s disapproval of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, but insisted the White House hasn’t shown “any hostility” toward renewables. He did concede, however, that there is “hostility” or concern over whether the U.S. has “gone too far” with subsidies offered for intermittent energy sources.
Just days ago, the Interior Department unveiled new emergency permitting procedures to expedite the approval process for fossil fuel and mining projects that need leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, generation, or exploration permits. The process is intended to slash the typically yearslong process to just 28 days at the most. Solar and wind projects will not be eligible for the emergency process.
Read more from Callie here.
GERMAN ENERGY COMPANY ENDS OFFSHORE WIND ACTIVITIES IN THE U.S.: German energy company RWE plans to end its offshore wind activities in the U.S. due to the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the industry.
RWE released text of a speech by CEO Markus Krebber in which he announced the company would pause offshore wind activities in the U.S., saying they will “remain cautious given the political developments.”
The speech was published before the company’s annual meeting set on April 30. RWE is a multinational energy company that invests in a range of renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar.
The Trump administration has been a strong opponent of the wind industry. Just last week, the Interior Department ordered a New York wind project to be paused in the middle of construction to review an approved permit.
The Empire Wind Project was 30% complete when the administration ordered them to stop work. The Interior Department argued that the permitting process which was approved during the Biden administration was rushed. The pause in construction marks a number of actions by the administration with respect to wind power that have raised concerns for investors in the energy space.
Earlier this week, Katharine Kollins, the president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, told Maydeen that the action against the Empire Wind Project sends a “chilling” effect to investors.
“When one person can decide fairly capriciously that they don’t like something for whatever reason that is and stop a project midstream, that’s incredibly concerning to investors, and those investors are going to take their money elsewhere,” she added.
Read more by Maydeen here.
DRILLERS SEE SMALL UPTICK IN ACTIVITY WHILE SOME CONSIDER PUMPING THE BRAKES: The number of active rigs in the United States rose again for the second week in a row, according to new data published by energy service firm Baker Hughes.
The details: The U.S. added two oil rigs and 1 natural gas rig in the week ending on Friday, according to Baker Hughes’ rig count, a longtime indicator of production. All of the rigs added were onshore, with the U.S.’ offshore total remaining unchanged from the week before.
This is the second week in a row the rig count has increased, though it remains far lower than this time last year. There are 25 fewer onshore rigs and 4 fewer offshore rigs in the U.S. The total active rig count in the U.S. currently stands at 587.
Not out of the woods: This minor uptick in activity could signal that the market was not left as shocked as some feared by oil prices briefly plummeting below $60 per barrel earlier this month. However, some remain convinced that drillers and developers will continue to feel pressure from prices and President Donald Trump’s tariffs (particularly on steel) in the months to come.
Dan Doyle, president and owner of Reliance Well Services, told Reuters that, since January, his fracking company has only serviced six jobs. In that same period of time last year, the company had 40 jobs.
“There’s no question we’re going to be down this year. The magnitude of that decline is what’s in question. Most of the oil guys (producers) are scaling back their growth,” Marshall Adkins of the investment bank Raymond James told Fortune.
Where prices stand: International and domestic benchmark prices of oil remained steadily above $60 just before 3 p.m. EST, but were still headed for a weekly fall. Brent Crude jumped up by roughly 0.53% and was trading at $66.90 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate also increased by around 0.41%, and was priced at $63.90 per barrel.
TRUMP SIGNS SEABED MINING EXECUTIVE ORDER: Trump last night signed an executive order to fast-track the exploration and permitting process for critical minerals from the ocean floor, a move to reduce reliance on foreign entities.
Trump called on the Commerce Department to expedite the process for review and permitting of deep sea mining in U.S. waters. The order also called on the State and Interior departments to develop a plan to map priority areas of seabed mining.
“These resources are key to strengthening our economy, securing our energy future, and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals,” the order reads.
An administration official told Reuters that there are more than a billion metric tons of polymetallic nodules in U.S. waters that contain a variety of minerals used for electric vehicles and other goods. Minerals such as nickel, copper, and titanium could be found on the ocean floor.
The order aims to reduce dependence on foreign entities for critical minerals, particularly China. The U.S. imports the majority of its critical minerals from China which is used in a range of sectors such as energy and defense.
Read more by the Washington Examiner’s Emily Hallas here.
STATE DEPARTMENT ENDS OFFICE OVERSEEING CLIMATE TALKS: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has moved to eliminate the State Department’s Office of Global Change, the leading voice for American involvement in international climate change negotiations.
The details: Three people familiar with the decision confirmed the office’s shutdown to Politico on Thursday, the same day office staff were informed. It remains unclear when exactly the office will shut down, leaving many federal employees confused and concerned about future U.S. involvement in international climate talks, such as the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP30) held in Brazil later this year.
“This will hamstring international climate cooperation at the worst possible time,” one official told the outlet. That same official called the decision “strategically f***king dumb when it comes to China.”
A department spokesperson confirmed with Politico that the office will be closing, describing it as “unnecessary.”
Some background: The closure of the Office of Global Change is the latest development in the Trump administration’s efforts to rapidly withdraw from international climate discussions. On his first day in office, Trump again withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement. The administration has also withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnership, the UN’s climate damage fund, and pulled scientists from attending the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
BYD FIRST-QUARTER PROFITS SURPASS TESLA: Chinese electric vehicle company BYD surpassed Tesla in profits by reaching 9.15 billion yuan or $1.3 billion in the first quarter, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla earlier this week announced a net income of $409 million for its first quarter, falling by 70%.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg analysts expect little impact to BYD from Trump’s sweeping tariffs, since the company does not sell its vehicles in the U.S.
BYD’s profit announcement comes as the company displays higher price and luxury vehicles at the Shanghai auto show this week, such as the Yangwang U8L, Dynasty-D series and Denza Z sports car.
ICYMI – TRUMP DENIES EMERGENCY AID FOR ARKANSAS TORNADO VICTIMS: The Trump administration has denied federal aid to Arkansas, as the state recovers from an outbreak of tornados and severe storms that left dozens dead across Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri in March.
The details: Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested individual and public assistance from the federal government, typically doled out through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Trump administration denied the request on April 11, saying it “determined that the damage from this event was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies,” according to CNN.
Sanders has since appealed the decision, alongside the state’s two senators and four members of the House of Representatives. The Republicans insisted this week that the storms caused “catastrophic damage” to the state, leaving some homeless and businesses destroyed. Across the three states impacted, more than 40 people were killed, including three Arkansans.
A FEMA spokesperson has since defended the administration’s decision, telling the Washington Examiner this week that the agency is focused on “equitable, non-political disaster response.”
Some background: FEMA has been a target of the president’s sweeping cuts to the federal government, with the intention of putting more onus on states when it comes to disaster recovery. The agency is expected to see roughly 20% of its full-time staff take the government’s fork-in-the-road deferred resignation offer. Though it could be slashed altogether – something Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem has promised.
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News How Will Trump’s Effort to Revitalize Coal Play Out in the Nation’s Most Productive Coal Fields?
New York Times A Visit to Alaska Inspires a Climate Change Exhibit in Connecticut
Forbes The U.S.’s Belligerence On ‘Energy Dominance’ Is Losing It Respect