Latest News from E&E News
E&E News
20 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Energy Department expands eligibility for clean fuel tax credit
The Energy Department on Friday expanded the range of companies and producers that can claim the clean fuel production tax credit under Democrats' climate law — delivering a win for biofuels proponents on a tax incentive that was the subject of intense debate under the Biden administration. The Trump administration announced it was updating the modeling tool used to determine eligibility to claim the credit, which it said would account for new feedstocks and methods of production like ethanol from corn wet-milling and natural gas from coal mine methane. Lou Hrkman, principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, said in a statement the latest version of the modeling tool will allow more farmers 'to reap the benefits of a rapidly expanding market for alternative transportation fuels.' Advertisement The department also released an updated user manual that provides guidelines for how to determine life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of certain production pathways.
E&E News
20 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Dems seek probe of Bureau of Reclamation staff losses
Democratic senators are pressing the Interior Department to determine whether significant staff losses at the Bureau of Reclamation could put water infrastructure at risk as well as derail the agency's ability to fulfill congressional mandates. In a Friday letter to Interior acting Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz, eight senators asked for a review of staff reductions at Reclamation, pointing to an estimated loss of up to 25 percent of the agency's staff under the Trump administration. 'We are concerned that the administration's actions to gut the agency of qualified public servants could leave critical water infrastructure and communities vulnerable to operational disruptions,' states the letter, led by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Advertisement The letter cites reporting by POLITICO's E&E News that about 1,400 individuals have left Reclamation in recent months — including those in senior positions — as the result of deferred resignation programs, early retirement or voluntary separation payments.
E&E News
20 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Elon Musk says goodbye. Sort of.
President Donald Trump held a news conference in the Oval Office on Friday to thank Elon Musk for his service leading the administration's government-slashing 'Department of Government Efficiency' operation. 'Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude,' Trump said as he praised the cuts made so far by the DOGE team. Musk and DOGE 'delivered a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington,' Trump said. Musk 'had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he's an incredible patriot,' Trump said. 'The good news is that 90 percent of the country knows that, and they appreciate it, and they really appreciate what he did.' Advertisement Musk's time as a temporary special government employee has come to an end, the DOGE leader said as he stood behind the president for the nearly hourlong press conference.
E&E News
20 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
White House releases details about proposed budget cuts
EPA's core workforce would shrink to its smallest size since the mid-1980s, while funding for numerous grant programs would be zeroed out, according to new documents released Friday. The White House released a 'skinny budget' earlier this month. Now the Office of Management and Budget and agencies are posting additional information to help appropriators craft their fiscal 2026 bills. The number of 'full-time equivalent' EPA employees would fall from 14,130 this year to 12,856 in 2026 — a 9 percent drop, documents show. Overall, the administration's request would slash the agency's funding from $9.1 billion to $4.2 billion. Advertisement A variety of grant programs would be eliminated to save more than $1 billion. Among those on the chopping block: funding for state and local air regulators, brownfields redevelopment, and pesticides enforcement. Funding for politically popular watershed restoration programs would mostly be kept steady, but San Francisco Bay would lose $41.6 million — roughly 75 percent of its budget. DOE, Interior At the Department of Energy, the new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations would begin to 'wind down operations.' The White House would cancel $3.7 billion in unobligated bipartisan infrastructure law funding. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would be cut by 70 percent. The budget would eliminate around 50 percent of its full-time staff and refocus the office to prioritize geothermal and hydropower. The Interior Department would lose more than 5,000 full-time positions at the National Park Service. The president's budget would also eliminate the department's offshore wind program. The proposal calls for legislation to create a unified wildfire agency 'responsible for carrying out all aspects of the Federal wildland fire missions currently assigned to the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture.' The budget seeks to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund to pay for a backlog of maintenance concerns on public lands. Established by the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, the fund would be supported by 'an annual deposit for five years based on 50 percent of all Federal energy development revenue from the prior year.' Overall, the administration wants to achieve a more than $160 billion reduction to nondefense discretionary spending. But bipartisan pushback suggests the fiscal 2026 bills Congress is looking to pass this fall would almost certainly fund the government at higher levels than what the president is requesting. The administration does want an increase of nearly $4 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund, according to documents released by the Department of Homeland Security. Reporter Miranda Willson contributed.
E&E News
a day ago
- Business
- E&E News
Regulator OKs some construction at Louisiana gas export terminal
The developer of a large gas export terminal in Louisiana can move ahead with a limited set of construction activities, federal regulators said Friday, a week after they reaffirmed the project's authorization. Venture Global can proceed with a handful of activities tied to the company's CP2 LNG project planned in the southwest part of the state, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a brief letter signed by an official in the agency's gas branch. Those activities include the construction of temporary facilities, like access roads and parking areas, as well as site preparation and the installation of water wells, the letter said. Advertisement The approval, or 'limited notice to proceed with construction,' does not give CP2 'the authority to construct other project facilities at the LNG terminal,' it continued. A separate letter from the commission's LNG branch, also issued Friday, said Venture Global could start on construction activities tied to a storm surge wall.
