WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
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WHAT → happen → ?
House lawmakers have left D.C. to hit the campaign trails ahead of the midterm elections, which are just 47 days away.
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which → leave → elections
But senators are still in town and are wrapping up some business before they head back to their constituents.
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they → wrap → constituents
The Senate is racing to tackle several major priorities before breaking ahead of the midterm elections, including permitting reform and preventing homeowners from feeling the cost of data centers.
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Senate → race → centers
We dive into both below.
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We → dive → both
Plus, Trump administration officials are dismissing the idea of a ban on diesel exports, even as prices soar.
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prices → dismiss → exports
Keep reading to see what Energy Secretary Chris Wright had to say.
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Wright → keep → what
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you → send → you
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we → sign → list
We’re almost to the end of the week, and still no hard news out of the Senate on whether a deal streamlining the federal permitting system will be reached before the midterm elections.
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deal → ’re → elections
Key negotiators have said over the last couple of days that we should know where things stand by the end of this week.
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things → say → week
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that he was feeling “relatively good” about the Senate being able to strike a deal.
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Senate → tell → deal
He revealed that he was set to attend a meeting on permitting reform this afternoon.
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he → reveal → reform
“I think we have a time in history right now to do some common sense reforms that’ll make it easier to build things in our country,” Wright said, adding that he would “feel a lot better” after seeing details of a draft bill and confirmation that there is an alignment of votes.
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he → think → votes
“But fingers crossed that we’ll get something done this year,” the secretary said.
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secretary → cross → ?
This afternoon’s meeting with the secretary is a sign that the negotiators have come to an agreement on most of the text for a Senate bill and are awaiting clarity from the administration on how a deal could be implemented.
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deal → come → administration
This has been a sticking point for Democrats, as several fear that the Trump administration would not fairly apply faster permitting timelines to renewable energy projects as well as fossil fuels.
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administration → fear → projects
While much of the administration’s attempts to halt or roll back permits for wind and solar projects have been reversed in federal court, Democrats note that certain agencies have still failed to issue new permits.
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agencies → halt → permits
For example, in August, a federal judge in Oregon ordered the Pentagon to resume reviews of onshore wind projects, determining if the turbines would impact military operations.
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turbines → order → operations
However, legal documents obtained by Politico reveal that while the Pentagon has said it “resumed” wind project applications, the agency has not identified a single project that has moved forward through its review process.
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that → obtain → process
Meanwhile, Heinrich objects to the Ratepayer Protection Act: Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Sen. Martin Heinrich blocked the passage of the Ratepayer Protection Act.
Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio earlier today called for a unanimous consent vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act.
The bill was voted out of the House yesterday evening with strong bipartisan support, with only a few Democrats in opposition.
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bill → object → opposition
Heinrich on the Senate floor objected to the unanimous consent vote, arguing that the bill “falls short.”
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bill → object → vote
He added that “Congress needs to pass real legislation with real teeth.”
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Congress → add → teeth
His own bill, the GRID Savings Act, would require large load customers to pay for their grid updates.
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bill → require → updates
Quick reminder: Republican Rep. Gabe Evans of Colorado introduced the bill and it was co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida.
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it → introduce → Florida
The legislation would require state regulators to consider standards for new data centers and hyperscalers that consume over 100 megawatts of electricity to cover the costs of new generation, transmission, and infrastructure upgrades.
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that → require → generation
The bill does not have a federal mandate.
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bill → have → mandate
The Trump administration has championed the buildout of data centers in the country.
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administration → champion → country
Wright said this morning that there needs to be “common sense guardrails on building energy, on constructing data centers, and even the deployment of AI,” referring to the Ratepayer Protection Act.
Read more by Maydeen here.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION STANDS FIRM AGAINST DIESEL EXPORT BAN:
Republicans have been looking for every possible solution to bring down soaring diesel and gasoline prices, but there’s one the Trump administration still won’t go for: an export ban.
Secretary Wright shot down the possibility of the administration endorsing any type of ban on fuels this morning, saying that while the U.S. is a net exporter of products like diesel, the country does still import gasoline.
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country → say → gasoline
“We consume a larger percent of gasoline out of each barrel of oil than a barrel of oil yields,” Wright said.
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Wright → consume → oil
He explained that if the U.S. were to stop exporting diesel, refineries would slow down their operations, as they would run out of places to sell that product.
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they → explain → product
As a result, refineries would start producing less gasoline, leading to higher prices at the pump.
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refineries → start → pump
“It’s a globally interconnected system,” Wright said.
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Wright → ’ → ?
“The thing we need when prices are high is more supply.
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prices → need → ?
We need to do everything we can to grow supply, and if you start putting barriers on flows, pretty quickly you will reduce the production, and you’ll have less supply.”
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you → need → supply
Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed interest in a diesel export ban earlier in the week, saying that if it were to take pressure off prices, he was “open to exploring it.”
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he → express → it
The idea, however, has also been shot down by other administration officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
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idea → shoot → Burgum
Wright’s remarks come as experts warn gas and diesel prices will spike even higher in the coming days.
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prices → come → days
As of today, the national average price of gas was $4.43 per gallon, according to AAA, while the average diesel price was $6.39 a gallon.
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price → accord → AAA
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan warned yesterday that average diesel prices could hit a new high of $6.50 a gallon before the weekend.
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prices → warn → weekend
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
