Latest news with #JohnCurtis
E&E News
05-08-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Senate Republicans put holds on nominees over renewables
At least two Republican senators placed holds on Treasury Department nominees over fears and frustration with the Trump administration's rhetoric on renewable energy sources. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Curtis of Utah are making it harder to confirm Brian Morrissey Jr. to be general counsel, Francis Brooke to be an assistant secretary and Jonathan McKernan to be an undersecretary. Grassley, Curtis and other moderate Republicans want to make sure Treasury follows a compromise in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on the phase-out of renewable energy credits. Enough dissent among Republicans could imperil a nominee because of the party's small margins. Advertisement Grassley announced his holds in comments published in the Congressional Record, and Curtis joined him, according to a person familiar with the situation. 'During consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, I worked with my colleagues to provide wind and solar an appropriate glidepath for the orderly phase-out of the tax credits,' Grassley said. 'Ultimately, Congress enshrined in statute a 12-month transition period based on when projects 'begin construction.'' He added: 'What it means for a project to 'begin construction' has been well established by Treasury guidance for more than a decade. Moreover, Congress specifically references current Treasury guidance to set that term's meaning in law. This is a case where both the law and congressional intent are clear.' Holds mean a nominee can't pass by unanimous consent. Democrats have not allowed any Trump picks to get that treatment. Still, Republicans can only afford to lose three members, assuming Vice President JD Vance would break a tie. Last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order promising to end 'market distorting subsidies for unreliable, foreign controlled energy sources.' That edict directs Treasury to issue implementing guidance for the clean energy credits by Aug. 18. Curtis, Grassley and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have been pushing for assurances the administration will comply with language allowing wind and solar projects to access tax breaks should they begin construction by July 2026. But last week, concern grew the Trump administration would not hold up their end of the bargain. The administration unleashed a slew of attacks on wind and solar, with the Interior Department moving to purge any 'preferential treatment' toward wind and solar in agency regulations and targeting the density of renewable energy projects. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also rescinded areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf from offshore wind development.
Reuters
04-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Republican lawmakers slow Trump Treasury picks over wind, solar credits
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Two Republican senators have put holds on three of U.S. President Donald Trump's Treasury Department nominees over a White House effort to make it harder for companies to claim tax credits for wind and solar energy projects, according to a government document and a source familiar with the matter. The senators, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Curtis of Utah, hail from states with large renewable energy industries and support federal tax credits that bring down the cost of wind farms and solar arrays. Grassley published his announcement in the Congressional Record on Friday. A source familiar with the situation confirmed Curtis' hold to Reuters on Monday. In his announcement, Grassley said he was putting a hold on the Treasury nominees - Brian Morrissey, who was nominated to serve as Treasury's general counsel, Francis Brooke, nominated to be assistant secretary, and Jonathan McKernan - until he was certain the tax credit rules adhered to the law. The senators had tried to negotiate a longer timeline for wind and solar tax credits ahead of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but ultimately joined Republicans in backing a final draft that phases out clean energy subsidies years earlier than planned as part of their budget megabill. The new law requires projects to begin construction within a year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for the credits. Under longstanding Treasury Department rules, a project is considered to have begun construction after spending just 5% of project costs. But days after signing the legislation into law, Trump last month directed Treasury to limit that "safe harbor" provision unless a substantial portion of a facility has been built, reportedly a promise he made to conservative Republicans. The agency has until August 18 to write new rules. "What it means for a project to 'begin construction' has been well established by Treasury guidance for more than a decade. Moreover, Congress specifically references current Treasury guidance to set that term's meaning in law," Grassley wrote. "This is a case where both the law and congressional intent are clear." Under Senate rules, a single senator can hold up a nominee even if the other 99 want to move forward.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grassley places holds on 3 Trump Treasury nominees
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is placing a hold on three of President Trump's nominees to the Treasury Department over forthcoming administration rules expected to hamper tax credits for wind and solar energy. Grassley, who recently engaged in a heated back-and-forth with Trump over the handling of judicial picks, announced his move to place the holds in the congressional record Friday. 'Today, I placed a hold on three Department of the Treasury nominees,' he said in the record, specifically naming Trump's picks for the department's general counsel, assistant secretary and undersecretary. The Iowa Republican added that while the 'big, beautiful, bill' recently passed by Congress allowed for wind and solar companies to continue to get tax credits if they begin construction of their projects in the next year, the Treasury Department 'is expected to issue rules and regulations implementing the agreed upon phase-out of the wind and solar credits by August 18, 2025.' 'Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of these Treasury nominees,' Grassley said. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) is also placing a hold on the same nominees — Brian Morrissey Jr., Francis Brooke and Jonathan McKernan — for the same reason, a source familiar told The Hill. It's not entirely clear whether these holds will actually have a significant impact on the nominations. Typically, they can slow the process of confirming a nominee, requiring the chamber to spend hours debating and taking additional votes for each nominee without ultimately blocking them. With a handful of nominees, holds are more of an annoyance, but in some cases — like in 2023, when Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) put holds on hundreds of military promotions — they have successfully delayed nominations for a significant period. It's unusual, though not unheard of, for lawmakers of the president's party to place holds on nominees. Grassley's decision was first reported Monday by C-SPAN'S Craig Caplan. Curtis's move was first reported by Politico. The hold comes amid a larger spat between Grassley and Trump after president told the senator last week to ax the Judiciary Committee's 'blue slip' tradition of allowing home-state senators to veto nominees to district courts and U.S. attorneys' offices. Trump reposted comments that accused Grassley of being 'sneaky' and a 'RINO,' an acronym for Republican in name only. 'I was offended by what the president said, and I'm disappointed it would result in personal insults,' Grassley said in response. Trump, meanwhile, has expressed frustration at the pace of the Senate's confirmation of his nominees, saying lawmakers should stay in Washington to confirm more people ahead of their yearly August recess. How rapidly to phase out energy tax credits was a major sticking point among Republican lawmakers as they put Trump's megabill together. The bill provisions that Curtis helped to secure allowing wind and solar projects to get the full value of a lucrative tax credit if they start construction within 12 months of its passage. After the bill was passed Trump signed an executive order that directed the Treasury to take a strict approach to limit which projects are eligible. The administration has been particularly hostile to wind and solar and broadly supportive of other energy sources, including oil, gas, coal and nuclear. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
01-08-2025
- Business
- Politico
A wind and solar tax mystery solved
The sudden emergence of a new wind and solar tax during the debate over Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act was shrouded in mystery. But some answers are starting to emerge. The tax, which aimed to penalize wind and solar projects that used parts from China and other U.S. adversaries, popped up in a late June draft of the Senate Finance Committee's portion of the bill. It was panned by the industry and its backers as a 'kill shot' and an attempt to further hobble wind and solar after ending the technologies' tax credits. Senators removed the tax days later, thanks to a push from some Republican clean energy supporters. But its journey to the bill remained a head-scratcher, with many lawmakers and observers pointing fingers and hazarding guesses about it, and no one taking credit. 'I brought it up at the lunch [soon after the text's release] and leadership had not heard about it,' Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), a key negotiator pushing to save renewable energy incentives, told our Kelsey Brugger. 'Some members of Finance got surprised when I brought it up.' Kelsey spoke with lawmakers, congressional aides, lobbyists and others, and pieced together new details about what happened: Finance Committee staff worked and took meetings for more than a year, trying to find a policy to support domestic manufacturing jobs while rolling back the tax incentives in a way that Senate Republicans could support. The aides came up with the tax after talking with the Joint Committee on Taxation and legislative counsel. But with President Donald Trump's July 4 deadline for passing the bill fast approaching and staff juggling numerous other changes, the committee didn't have time to discuss the ideas broadly and get consensus. 'It was a perfect MacGuffin for the most frenzied point in the process,' said Liam Donovan, a political strategist at the firm Bracewell. He called it a 'reminder to industry that things could get worse.' Adrian Deveny, founder of Climate Vision and a former top energy aide to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said there 'aren't that many tools in the toolbox' if lawmakers want to reshore domestic manufacturing without the tax credits. 'The truth of how a lot of this stuff happens, much of the policy is not requested by a member, it's committee staff, it's not a new phenomenon,' Deveny added. Senate GOP leadership referred questions to the Finance Committee, which did not return requests for comment. Nonetheless, there was no shortage of finger-pointing around the excise tax. Prominent fossil fuel supporter Alex Epstein, who had been vocally pushing to end the tax credits quickly, was one person being blamed, but he said he opposed it. 'We don't want to punish solar and wind, but we don't want to give it special preferences,' he said, characterizing his advocacy. The Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition offered some support for the excise tax — but also wanted to retain the tax credits to incentivize domestic solar production. But Mike Carr, the group's executive director, said SEMA did not play a role in formulating it. 'The first time we saw the excise tax provision was the same time as everyone else. We didn't provide any input on that provision,' he said. It's Friday— thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Timothy Cama. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to tcama@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Zack Colman breaks down the legal outlook for EPA's move to roll back the endangerment finding. Power Centers Full steam ahead for offshore wind project The largest offshore wind project in the U.S. is on track to start producing electricity next year — a bright spot for an industry that has been under attack, Benjamin Storrow writes. Dominion Energy officials said in an earnings call Friday that their project named Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is 60 percent complete. And a turbine installation vessel that is the first American-flagged ship of its kind could arrive as soon as this month. 'This project remains consistent with the goal of securing American energy dominance and is part of our comprehensive all-of-the-above strategy to affordably meet growing energy needs,' Dominion CEO Robert Blue said on the call, echoing Trump's language. FEMA boss has two jobs The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency also holds a senior position at the Department of Homeland Security, raising questions about disaster response as hurricanes enter their most active season, Thomas Frank writes. DHS oversees both FEMA and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, and the department confirmed to Tom that David Richardson leads both. Trump appointed Richardson in January to oversee the DHS weapons office and put him in charge of FEMA in May. At the time, the president did mention Richardson's status at DHS. Heading FEMA 'is 24/7, every day of the year and requires your full attention every single day, every single minute,' said Peter Gaynor, who led the agency in Trump's first term. CO2 storage site gets ready to reopen Archer-Daniels-Midland expects to resume carbon dioxide injections later this summer at an Illinois site that was shuttered last year after a possible leak was detected, Carlos Anchondo writes. The company is the first to operate this kind of permanent storage site under EPA permitting. The well was regularly being injected with 2,000 metric tons of CO2 before EPA sent the company a notice of violation last September. The agency at the time said ADM had failed to comply with the terms of its permit. ADM is still in talks with EPA about meeting the compliance measures for the site. 'We take our commitment to safety and being transparent in reports we submit to the government and in relevant information we share with stakeholders very seriously,' ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson said in a statement. In Other News In the market: ExxonMobil is considering purchasing other oil companies, its CEO Darren Woods told The Wall Street Journal. More information: Duke Energy is planning to give electricity bill data to its North Carolina customers after years of lobbying from clean energy advocates. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Samuel L. Jackson is lending a hand to offshore wind in an advertisement for a Swedish power company. Elon Musk may be gone, but DOGE is still cutting funding for energy projects. Senate Democratic climate hawks slammed the White House AI action plan for the environmental impacts of favoring coal and gas. Exelon is in talks to build new generation in six states as concerns grow about energy shortages. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NOLA Gold Rugby will not take part in 2026 season
METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Major League Rugby in South Louisiana has encountered a major obstacle. In a message to fans on their website, NOLA Gold Rugby said, 'NOLA Gold has informed the League that we do not intend to participate in the 2026 season. Discussions are ongoing with the League regarding future opportunities and potential pathways forward.' The Gold finished the 2025 season with a 4-12 record and a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The disappointing season comes after the program's first ever Major League Rugby playoff appearance in 2024. The Gold hosted the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Gold Mine on Airline. In their 'End of Season Statement', the Gold said their ticket revenue increased 30% and their search for a permanent home continues. Outside of rugby, the Gold Mine on Airline serves as the home of the John Curtis and Jesuit football programs. Tulane football will be using the venue as a natural grass practice surface on different days during fall Posts NOLA Pool Passport: Pool with fantastic view at The Virgin Hotels New Orleans District C Councilman Freddie King hosting back-to-school fair Democrats bash Trump, GOP over disappointing jobs report: 'Awful' State divided on reaction to Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project cancellation White House announces new $200 million ballroom renovation Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
