Watt’s Happening aims to provide breaking news, sharp analysis, and thoughtful commentary from the cutting edge of the energy sector as this dynamic area of the world continues to expand and grow before our eyes.
Weekly Highlights:
Energy Déjà Vu in Europe
As part of the US-EU trade deal that was just hammered out, the European Union pledged itself to purchase US$750 billion of US energy in the next three years in exchange for a fifteen percent tariff on most of its exports to the United States. While the EU is finally taking steps to wean itself off of Russian gas exports in favor of American LNG, some experts are cautioning that this may be a case of “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” That is, the EU is once again risking itself by being too dependent on one source of energy, especially given the political volatility in the United States. Others argue that the demand for natural gas in Europe is declining and that the US$750 billion would be better spent on investing in renewables.
Sparring Over Brazilian Oil Continues
Earlier, in response to President Trump’s accusations that Brazilian President Lula da Silva was politically persecuting former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the United States threatened to impose a fifty percent tariff on all Brazilian imports to the United States, especially targeting Brazilian oil imports. This risked starting another trade war, as President Lula announced that he would impose fifty percent tariffs on all US exports to Brazil. Thankfully, cooler heads have prevailed, and oil exports have been allowed to resume, as this trade war would hurt both sides, especially the energy industry. While Brazil was still hit with some tariffs, energy products, orange juice, pulp, and aircraft were granted exemptions.
President Trump Underscores His Opposition to Windmills
While President Trump’s opposition to wind power is well-known, famously calling windmills “not truly green” and accusing them of “driving whales crazy,” his golfing trip to Scotland has led him to underscore his opposition to this green form of energy in a conversation with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But this dislike is not new. Even before he became president for the first time in 2016, he made his thoughts on the issue very clear when the government decided to build windmills near two of his golf courses. Although he called the windmills “monstrosities” and his legal battle to prevent their construction failed, he has thus far been successful in signing legislation curbing government support for them in the United States and recently revoked permits allowing offshore wind farms to be constructed.
EPA Seeks Major Repeal
In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases as substances that “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations” and helped get the Clean Air Act passed. Now, the EPA is aiming to gut that rule completely, enabling the removal of emission standards for all kinds of vehicles and precluding further encouragement of the shift to electric cars. It is very likely that this issue will soon be taken to court, and it remains unclear as to how the courts will rule on the issue and what the results will be.
New York Issues the First-of-its-Kind Legislation in the US
I’ve talked about the fact that my (former) home state of California is leading the way in the fight to ban gas pumps and gas appliances, but it now looks like New York is joining the fight. Recently, the state’s State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council approved a new building standard that would ban the installation of gas and other fossil fuels in newly constructed buildings. But this did not come out of the blue. In fact, such a decision had been mandated by the 2023 All-Electric Buildings Act and applies to both residential and commercial buildings that are up to seven stories tall and up to 100,000 square feet. For bigger buildings, they will have to be all-electric by 2029.
About the Author: Toni Mikec
Toni Mikec is the Managing Editor for Energy World, a publication of the Center for the National Interest. Before that, he worked as a political consultant for Your Voter Guide in Sacramento and as a Senior Editor at Eagle Financial Publications in Washington DC. He holds a B.A. in International Relations (summa cum laude) from the University of California, Davis and a M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
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