WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! It’s been a busy week in D.C., but we are finally reaching the weekend. There are several events happening around town this weekend, including the annual H Street Festival, which features live music, performances, and vendors. 🎶🎹 Check out other events happening this weekend here.
- ⚖️⚡ For today’s newsletter, we take a look at Democratic governors’ efforts to rein in data centers, with some calling for more stringent regulations and others threatening to ban the AI facilities.
- 🪨⛏️ Meanwhile, at a CSIS event this morning, Ex-Im president and chairman John Jovanovic spoke about Africa’s role in securing the U.S. critical mineral supply chain. Keep reading to see what he has to say.
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.*
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: #
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse warned that, even if the Senate can strike a deal on permitting in the next couple days, the effort could all be for naught if the House doesn’t decide to take action.
“Doesn’t matter what we do in the Senate, now or later, if they don’t have an understanding in the House about when it gets taken up,” Whitehouse said this week, according to Semafor. “Will they come back before the election? Will they schedule something solid, a fixed date after the election? I don’t have a program from them yet. It’s not my call. But I do think it’s important that there be a Senate and House voting plan that the White House has checked off, and so that’s what we’re looking at.”
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ESCALATE DATA CENTER CRACKDOWN: #
New regulations in Virginia: Earlier today, Gov. Abigail Spanberger unveiled what she has called the “most comprehensive and aggressive” data center regulations in the country, marking the latest escalation from state politicians to slow the development of power-hungry data centers.
The Democratic governor has stopped short of endorsing a full moratorium on data centers in Virginia, which has the highest concentration of the facilities in the nation.
The regulations, which were issued in a nine-page executive order, instead focus on increasing communication and transparency with data center developers and encouraging the use of cleaner sources of energy.
Specifically, the rules impose limits on gas generation for new data centers and bars nondisclosure agreements.
The new guidelines also prioritize the hiring of local workers and require the state government to review emissions and air quality impacts of existing facilities.
“As localities continue to have the option of choosing to reject or accept applications for data centers to come into their communities, it’s vital that the state actually provide a framework for them to be able to make those thoughtful, good decisions about what is important to their community,” Spanberger said.
Read more from the Examiner’s Molly Parks here. A promise from Maryland: Meanwhile, Virginia’s northern neighbor Maryland is setting itself up to halt data center development in the state altogether.
During an interview with Punchbowl yesterday, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said he would sign a statewide moratorium on data centers if it landed on his desk.
“And here’s the thing, it’s like — I believe that local jurisdictions should have say and they should not be told nor dictated, and I do understand there are certain local jurisdictions who want it,” he said. “I just need them to understand I have very strict guidelines of what’s going to actually get state approval and state authority.”
Several jurisdictions in Maryland have already moved to impose temporary bans on data centers, including in Baltimore County.
New York, Oregon, and Texas have also implemented moratoria on data center development through restricting state-owned leases for the facilities or pausing connecting the data centers to the grid.
AFRICA PLAYS KEY ROLE IN U.S. CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN #
Africa has a “very key role to play” in securing the U.S. critical mineral supply chain, said John Jovanovic, president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank, but it will require U.S. involvement in Africa’s infrastructure.
“Think about where American equipment, American technology, American service providers could play a role. That’s where we come in,” Jovanovic said at a CSIS event this morning.
He added that other government agencies can also provide equity and feasible support.
“Use the portfolio of tools that the U.S. government has at your disposal,” he said.
The Trump administration has taken a whole-of-government approach to diversifying and strengthening the domestic supply chain of critical minerals.
Jovanovic said that EXIM’s Project Vault is one piece of the administration’s effort, which is aimed at ensuring there is uninterrupted access to critical minerals for key industries.
“Critical raw materials need to have a place in our ecosystem here, we need to mine in America. We need to refine and process in America,” Jovanovic said.
“And here’s where people lose the punchline: we need to work constructively with our partners around the globe to make that a reality,” he added. “The bottom line is that Africa is a tremendous partner and ally in supply chain security.”
The State Department earlier this year signed memorandums with several African nations to support mining development.
In regards to the stockpile, Jovanovic said it is meant to serve as a blueprint that others can replicate. The stockpile is about partnering with the private sector to make it “demand-led, demand-driven,” he said.
Jovanovic hinted there could be some news on the project next week in New York.
All the rest: #
TRUMP’S ACCIDENTAL CLIMATE WIN: As the war in Iran has driven up oil and gas prices worldwide, pushing down demand for fossil fuels, it has also caused fossil fuel emissions to drop worldwide.
An analysis released by Carbon Brief this week found that global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are expected to fall by 0.5% this year.
The interesting thing about this is that the overall decline comes as demand for coal is expected to grow in 2026. Recent estimates from the International Energy Agency forecast that global coal demand is rising by 1.2% this year, instead of declining as previously predicted.
The increased use of coal, however, has been heavily outweighed by the drop in oil and gas demand – driven, of course, by surging prices.
As of this month, the IEA is predicting that there will be a 2.4% drop in oil demand this year compared to 2025 levels. This is roughly equivalent to a 2,500,000 barrel per day drop. In January, the agency forecast that demand would rise by 930,000 barrels per day.
Something to think about: It’s important to note that the 0.5% expected drop in fossil fuel emissions will very likely reverse once oil and gas demand recovers after the Iranian conflict ends. Why? Because clean alternatives have not increased to make up the difference.
High gas prices might, in theory, encourage drivers to opt for an electric vehicle, but the numbers don’t show many people flocking to the green cars. Yesterday, Cox Automotive released numbers for new and used EV car sales for August. While new EV sales were up by 2.5% from the month before, they were still down by 46.9% from last year.
SAUDI HALTS OIL DELIVERIES TO EUROPE: Saudi Aramco has notified European refineries that they won’t receive oil deliveries next month, following a key pipeline being shut down, Bloomberg reports.
European refiners will now need to look elsewhere for supply. For instance, Poland’s Orlen SA has been seeking alternative shipments. Prices for some physical oil cargoes in Europe topped $130 per barrel earlier this week.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline has temporarily shut down after Iranian drone attacks. Fuel experts have said that the pipeline will be closed for at least a month or two.
Where do prices stand? The global supply disruptions in the Middle East and in Ukraine continue to push U.S. gas and diesel prices up.
The national average gas price this morning sat at $4.46 per gallon, while diesel prices were at $6.44 a gallon. Gas prices are just 10 cents away from hitting their all-time highest level of $5.06, which was struck in June 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan said that gas prices are expected to continue to rise throughout the day. He added that diesel prices could reach $6.50 a gallon by the end of the day.
What about oil? Despite Saudi Arabia’s news to Europe this morning, traders do not appear to be worried about lasting disruptions to global trade as prices continued to fall today.
Just before 3 p.m. EDT, both international and domestic benchmarks were hovering above the $100 line. Brent crude fell 1.02% and was selling at $103.75 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was down 1.80% to sell at $100.08 a barrel.
TRUMP CONSIDERS MORE DATA CENTERS ON PUBLIC LANDS: The Trump administration is evaluating at least 12 data centers or related projects to be built on federal lands, The Washington Sun reports.
The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing data center projects covering nearly 17,600 acres of public lands in states like Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
A BLM spokesperson told The Washington Sun that each of the proposals will be evaluated under the National Environmental Policy Act process.
Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has introduced bills to ban data center development on federal lands, public property, and military bases.
As we noted earlier this week, Tlaib voted against the Ratepayer Protection Act, arguing that it did not go far enough to address energy concerns related to these AI facilities. She called for Congress to enact a data center prohibition on federal lands.
ICYMI – REVOLUTION WIND COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION: The offshore wind industry saw a major win this week as the Rhode Island Revolution Wind project officially finished installing its wind turbines.
Danish wind major Orsted confirmed that all 65 wind turbines have been installed, and that the project is on track for commercial operations later this year.
The offshore wind farm, which was caught in the crosshairs of the Trump administration several times over the last year, is expected to produce around 704 megawatts, enough to power more than 350,000 homes. The first turbine was installed in September 2024. The project has been producing and delivering electricity since March of this year.
Some background: Revolution Wind was one of five under-construction offshore wind projects halted late last year by the Trump administration, as its offshore leases were d. By mid-January, a federal judge allowed the project to continue, saying it would be “irreparably harmed” if construction did not restart.
Revolution Wind was also targeted in August 2025 via a stop-work order, as the administration accused project developers of rushing through the permitting process and failing to reach an agreement with the Pentagon via executive order over national security concerns. This was also defeated in federal court, with a judge calling the administration’s stop-work order the “height of arbitrary and capricious actions.”
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