WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and Happy Wednesday, Daily on Energy readers! We’re just two days into fall and it’s already feeling like it in D.C., with rain and lower temperatures settling in.
The administration is split over imposing a ban on diesel exports as a solution to tackling record-high prices. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had a few things to say about a ban in New York today.
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.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SPLIT OVER DIESEL EXPORT BAN:
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has come out against President Donald Trump’s call for an export ban on diesel, arguing that it could push fuel prices higher.
“The blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work,” Wright said at an event in New York this morning.
“If you can’t export the diesel that comes out of our refineries, you run out of places to store it, and you have to reduce US refining, which would put upward pressure on gasoline prices and jet fuel prices,” he added.
Wright noted that the administration was open to any suggestion to lower prices, with plans of making a policy announcement in the coming days.
The secretary’s remarks align with the opinion of many fuel experts, who have raised concerns that a ban would only provide short-term relief and later backfire by raising prices.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan warned today that a ban on diesel could raise gas prices even further due to refineries being forced to cut back on output.
“Diesel is already at all-time highs, and a diesel export ban may bring some relief to diesel at the expense of gas prices- which could start to rise (as cutting output would hit gasoline hardest). If diesel exports get banned, gas prices could rise toward record levels,” he wrote on X.
The White House is reportedly working on a plan to impose a 90-day export ban on diesel.
Wright was pressed on the proposal during a Climate Week event hosted by the New York Times this afternoon.
He did not say whether the administration had finalized the 90-day plan, and said the market will hear more about the decision later in the week.
The secretary said that, no matter the decision, it would not be a “black and white” halting of diesel exports for 90 days.
“That won’t happen,” he said. “What’s going to happen is – how do we increase the domestic supply of diesel in the United States to stop the upward price pressure and put a little downward price pressure on it, while making sure that all American refineries are running at full capacity?”
How much diesel does the U.S. export? The U.S. supplies nearly 1.5 million barrels to the rest of the world per day, which is about one-fifth of global seaborne diesel trade. U.S. refineries produce nearly 5.3 million barrels of distillates per day, which exceeds the domestic demand of about 3.6 million barrels a day.
As of this afternoon, the nationwide average of diesel prices remains at record levels of $6.52 per gallon.
All the rest:
RARE EARTHS IN FOCUS IN TRUMP MEETING WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING: One particular point of conversation during this week’s three-day state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to be Beijing’s rare earth export restrictions.
This will be Xi’s first trip to the U.S. in nearly three years. Tensions have been high between the two leaders over trade, artificial intelligence, the Middle East conflict, and Taiwan. But the topic of rare earths and critical minerals is of acute interest because the one-year truce reached last year to lift Chinese export controls on rare earth minerals is set to expire next month.
PALISADES NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REOPENING DELAYED AGAIN AFTER REFUELING BLUNDER: Reopening a decommissioned nuclear power plant was never going to be an easy task. In restarting the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan, Holtec International has run into delay after delay.
There was hope that the official reopening of the power plant was around the corner at the end of last month, as Holtec said it began loading nuclear fuel into the reactor vessel.
But not long after fuel loading activities began, the process came to a screeching halt.
What happened? A nuclear fuel assembly – a group of fuel rods – tilted and tipped out of place.
The incident was first flagged over the weekend by Edwin Lyman, director of Nuclear Power Safety for the Union of Concerned Scientists. In a post to X, Lyman said he had been made aware of it via Reddit.
“The allegation says a photo circulating in the industry shows the assembly lying ‘fully horizontal on the core plate.’ This is unverified information but if true, it’s a major and costly mistake,” Lyman said. “Your tax dollars at work, folks! Time for Holtec and NRC to come clean.”
One day later, Holtec publicly acknowledged the incident. In a press release on Monday, the company said the fuel assembly “tilted from its upright position after it had been placed, and the fuel-handling machine grapple had been disengaged.”
Holtec said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was notified, but added that the incident did not trigger safety reporting requirements under NRC regulations.
The NRC later confirmed to The National that there was “no radiological release” related to the incident and that “no workers or the public have been affected.”
News of the incident comes just one week after Holtec withdrew its IPO.
Holtec has not said when fuel loading activities for Palisades will resume. The company initially intended to restart Palisades by October of last year.
GLENCORE TO CREATE A CRITICAL MINERAL RESERVE WITH EX-IM: Glencore has received a $500 million commitment from the Export-Import Bank to create a strategic critical mineral reserve.
Glencore was selected to be the founding partner in the launch of VaultCo, which is a private entity that was set up to manage and oversee Ex-Im’s Project Vault. The project’s purpose is to ensure that key industries have an uninterrupted access to critical minerals.
“Mineral security is national security. VaultCo is working to ensure the U.S. industrial base has access to the critical minerals needed to build the products everyday Americans rely on.” Brett Lambert, the executive chair of VaultCo, said in a press release.
ITALY APPROVES A RETURN TO NUCLEAR POWER: After nearly 40 years, Italy is reopening its doors to new nuclear power.
In a 81-51 vote, the Italian Senate gave its approval for a legal framework that allows for the development of next-generation nuclear technologies in the country, according to the Associated Press. The legislation gives the government the authority to issue rules over the next year regarding licensing new reactors, safety, nuclear waste, and more.
Italy decommissioned all of its nuclear power plants by 1990 amid strong opposition following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Voters rejected measures to reintroduce the carbon-free technology during national referendums in 1987 and in 2011.
Italy will focus on developing small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear technologies.
Energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin has said he hopes the country could have new domestic reactors by 2035.
RUNDOWN
Politico Behind closed doors, the politics of solar geoengineering are shifting
News 6 Florida’s solar boom promised lower electric bills. What happens when the lender goes bankrupt?
Canary Media With federal funding windfall, X-energy advances small nuclear reactor
Continue reading...
[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
