Trump vowed to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he takes office — here’s how he might do it

Published

3 months ago

January 19, 2025

admin

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to declare a national energy emergency as soon as he takes office Monday, months after promising voters that he would cut their electric and gasoline prices in half in the first year of his administration.

“To achieve this rapid reduction in energy costs, I will declare a national emergency to allow us to dramatically increase energy production, generation and supply,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Potterville, Michigan last August. “Starting on day one, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new reactors and we will slash the red tape.”

The president-elect reiterated as recently as Dec. 22 his intention to “declare a national energy emergency” on the first day of his administration. He vowed to issue a series of executive orders to reverse Biden administration policies on natural gas exports, drilling and emissions standards.

Trump plans to establish a National Energy Council led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, his pick to lead the Department of the Interior. Burgum said during a Senate hearing on his nomination this week that he expects the council to be established through an executive order.

It is unclear whether emergency declaration would be largely symbolic or would invoke broader powers that go beyond the executive orders on energy that Trump is widely expected to issue Monday. The president-elect’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

“My anticipation is that it will be a rhetorical declaration of an energy emergency,” said Mike Sommers, president of the oil industry’s lobby group American Petroleum Institute. “When you bundle together the executive orders, that will be the answer to what to do about the energy emergency.”

There are several emergency statutes Trump could invoke that are related to energy, said Glenn Schwartz, director of energy policy at the consulting firm Rapidan Energy. Emergencies are often loosely defined under federal law, giving the president broad discretion to use them as he sees fit, Schwartz said.

And Trump would likely face little pushback from the courts because they are reluctant to challenge presidential determinations related to national security, Schwartz said.

“What you end up with is that even if Trump were to expand his emergency powers in unprecedented ways, it is not clear that courts would step in to halt any of these resulting actions,” the analyst said.

Likely emergency authorities

There is a clear precedent for Trump to invoke emergency authority to promote power generation and expand the nation’s fuel supply, Schwartz told clients in a research report published last Thursday. Authorities using the powers would waive certain environmental and pollution rules related to energy.

Trump could issue fuel waivers under the Clean Air Act to allow gasoline onto the market that would otherwise violate federal air quality standards, the analyst said. Presidents have often used such waivers whenever they needed to stretch the country’s gasoline supply and keep prices in check, he said.

Trump could also invoke the Federal Power Act to order power plants to run at maximum capacity and not comply with pollution limits, Schwartz said. The energy secretary can invoke the act during wartime or when a sudden increase in demand or a shortage of electricity creates an emergency situation.

The provision has been rarely used since World War II and has mostly been reserved for situations where extreme weather has overwhelmed power plants, Schwartz said.

The largest grid operator in the U.S., PJM Interconnection, has warned of a power shortfall as coal plants are retired faster than new capacity is brought online. PJM operates the grid in all or parts of 13 states, in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South.

The situation could become more acute as electricity demand increases significantly as the tech sector builds out energy-hungry data centers to support artificial intelligence applications.

The first Trump administration considered invoking the act in 2018 to order utilities to buy two years of power from coal and nuclear plants that were at risk of shutting down. The administration at the time ultimately dropped the idea after facing push back from industry.

Trump could also opt for a broader statute that lets the president suspend pollution laws for industrial facilities, power plants, oil refineries, steel mills, chemical plants and other industrial facilities in emergency situations, Schwartz said.

There is less support under federal law for the president to force new production, Schwartz said. Trump could direct federal agencies to fast track environmental reviews on energy projects he supports, such as pipelines, but the president cannot use emergency authorities to circumvent bedrock environmental policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, the analyst said.

Expected executive orders

Oil industry lobbyists at the American Petroleum Institute are anticipating that Trump will issue a series of orders tied to energy as soon as Monday.

The administration is expected to issue an order lifting the Biden team’s pause on new liquified natural gas export facilities, Sommers said. The president-elect will also likely try to reverse President Biden’s recent decision to ban drilling in 625 million acres of federal waters. Trump’s authority to do this has been disputed and such an order would likely end up in court.

“We are of the view that he has the ability to reverse that and we’ll defend that in court,” Sommers said.

The industry is anticipating the president will also direct the Interior Department to increase oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf Mexico, Sommers said. The Biden administration had issued the fewest leases in history under a program set to run through 2029.

These decisions are not expected to have any immediate impact on production. The U.S. has been the world’s largest producer of oil and gas for six years, outpacing Saudi Arabia and Russia. The CEOs of Exxon and Chevron have made clear that production decisions are based on market conditions, not in response to who is in the White House.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” Schwartz said. “He can give them all the resources they need to be able to drill, but I haven’t seen anything that suggests he can force them to take it out of the ground.”

Trump is expected to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Executive orders targeting tailpipe emission and fuel economy standards for cars are also expected.

Still, only so much can be done through executive order, Sommers said, and the directives often have to go through a rulemaking process that takes time. The oil industry is more focused on pushing for more durable policy changes in the Republican-controlled Congress, he said.

“There’s not a lot of stuff that they’re going to be able to do on day one, other than direct federal agencies to fulfill their promise of energy dominance,” Sommers said.

Environment

400 kW DC fast charging On The Run arrives in Canada – and it’s FREE!

Published

4 hours ago

April 18, 2025

admin

400 kW DC fast charging On The Run arrives in Canada – and it's FREE!

British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!

The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.

“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”

On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.

Electrek’s Take

[embedded content]

Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).

It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.

SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Terawatt opens its first electric charging truck stop in California

Published

6 hours ago

April 17, 2025

admin

Terawatt opens its first electric charging truck stop in California

Terawatt charging truck stop — Photo: Terawatt

Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.

Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.

First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.

Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.

Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.

If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build

Published

9 hours ago

April 17, 2025

admin

In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.

Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:

.@Interior, in consultation with @HowardLutnick, is directing @BOEM to immediately halt all construction activities on the Empire Wind Project until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.

— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) April 16, 2025

Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.

The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.

“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”

As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.

As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.

In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:

Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.

As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.

Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.

To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.