Daily on Energy: BAAJA set to blast off

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! After spending several weeks away campaigning for the midterm elections, lawmakers are finally back in Washington, D.C. 🇺🇲 As we enter the final two months of the year, we’ll be keeping a close eye on what lawmakers prioritize in the final weeks.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.In just a few hours, the Senate will be putting its bipartisan permitting reform proposal to its first test: a vote to invoke cloture. This motion essentially limits debate and forces the chamber to take up the bill, consider its amendments, and put it to a final vote. This is often viewed as a preview to how the Senate will vote on final passage, and gives insight into who the remaining holdouts are.Architects of the bill – Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee, and Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich – will need to secure 60 votes for the bill to move forward.And as of this morning, they appeared confident that they had those numbers.“We believe we have the votes to proceed,” Whitehouse said. “We look forward to a very healthy amendment process once we have proceeded to this bill.”The vote comes just one day after President Donald Trump officially backed BAAJA, after remaining relatively quiet on the entire permitting reform issue.When asked if he had spoken with the president, Whitehouse said he hadn’t, and added that he wasn’t sure Trump “read the room as to where the issues were.”Still, he added that he is “glad” the president is in support.“Although it might not have been very helpful to us in the Senate, the president’s tweet or whatever you want to call it, I think was helpful in terms of making the likelihood of this bill getting to the floor in a Republican-controlled House much more certain,” Whitehouse said. “So it was helpful in that respect.”Lobbying Democrats: We previously reported in Daily on Energy that advocates are hoping to see 15 to 20 Democrats vote in favor of the legislation. This would likely result in around 70 votes in favor of advancing the bill, as not many Republicans are expected to break with the president in the test vote.To help hit this goal, many trade, policy, and clean energy groups descended on the Capitol today to lobby members that are still holding out.Citizens Climate Lobby told Callie they were meeting at least 60 House and Senate offices in the hours before the vote. When including virtual lobbying, the environmental nonprofit said, they were in touch with 80 Senate offices and more than 300 offices in the House.Jennifer Tyler, CCL’s vice president of government affairs, said she is hopeful tonight’s vote will be “really strong” and telling for the final passage. However, she noted that members are faced with an extremely tight turnaround, as an amended version of the bill was only released on Saturday.“It’s taking time to get into offices and communities these changes to them,” Tyler said. “And some of those changes I think are critical for them being able – some of these offices being able to support.”CCL is one of the few climate and environmental organizations that has offered its public endorsement for BAAJA, breaking with groups such as the Sierra Club and Climate Justice Alliance.Executive director Ricky Bradley said the division has been challenging, as there is cross-membership between CCL and groups like the Sierra Club.“It’s been challenging for us just to make sure that we’re able to get the messages out that sort of offer a different perspective than what the Sierra Club or other groups may have out there as well,” he said.Tyler added that the fissure within the environmental NGO community will likely only grow as more climate groups “separate from more environmental legacy organizations.” She explained that many of CCL’s members believe the only way to tackle climate change is to build clean energy faster, adding that BAAJA would facilitate just that.What to expect next: The procedural vote is set to take place at 5:30 p.m. and could go well into the evening, depending on how quickly members head to the floor to cast their votes.If cloture is invoked, the Senate is generally limited to 30 hours of additional consideration before it moves to a final vote. As Congress will be out Wednesday through Friday for Veterans Day, that would push a final vote on BAAJA to next week.Stay tuned for more from Callie tonight on the test vote, as she’ll be watching who – and who doesn’t – put their support behind the permitting bill. All the rest: HOUSE TAKES UP NUCLEAR BILLS: House lawmakers are set to vote on six bills this evening that would help nuclear energy.Here are the six bills: The Nuclear FUEL Act: The bill was introduced by Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Latta and co-sponsored by California Democrat Rep. Scott Peters. It would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license domestic recycling facilities that reprocess spent nuclear fuel in a way that does not separate plutonium. The fuel can be reused to generate electricity. The American Enrichment Deployment Act: The legislation was introduced by South Carolina Republican Rep. Russell Fry and co-sponsored by Washington Democrat Rep. Kim Schrier. It would allow for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility before a license is issued by the NRC. Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act: The bill is sponsored by Republican Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith and co-sponsored by Schrier. It would fast-track the review of certain uncontested permits and licenses for nuclear power plants by eliminating the NRC’s requirement to hold a public hearing at the end of the process when no potentially affected party has requested one. The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act: The bill is sponsored by Tennessee Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger and it would reform and reduce the scope of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent review committee that has offered insights and warnings to the NRC. It would allow for the committee to decline to review certain license applications. NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act: New Jersey Democrat Rep. Rob Menendez’s bill would allow the NRC to increase annual compensation at a rate that is up to 10% for Senior Executive Service positions within the commission. Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act: The bill is sponsored by Florida Democrat Rep. Kathy Castor and co-sponsored by Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. It would require the Department of Energy to report information on a public website regarding decisions related to licensing and authorization of DOE nuclear facilities. The agency must also provide public information on any actions that alter a directive or safety standard on these facilities. DOE must also issue an annual report on its authorization of nuclear facilities over the past year. GAS PRICES UNDER $4: The nation’s average price of gas has fallen 15.9 cents over the past week and now stands just below the $4 line at $3.96 per gallon, according to data by GasBuddy.The average price of gas is down 39.3 cents from a month ago and is 92.2 cents higher than a year ago. In the last week, the national average price of diesel fell 9.5 cents to $6.186 per gallon.“Many will assume the election had something to do with it, but that’s a myth,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan wrote. “Gas prices have fallen in the 30 days leading up to the election every year since 2006 except 2010, and it’s typically seasonal: refiners finish maintenance and ramp up output just as demand fades with cooler weather.”He added that increased oil movement through the Strait of Hormuz has also played a role and prices could stay below $4 in the weeks ahead.Oil prices are also declining after the president said Sunday that he is unlikely to order new attacks on Iran as long as negotiations continue.As of this morning, West Texas Intermediate has dropped by 3.43% and is trading at $87.77 a barrel. Brent crude has fallen 4.29% and stands at $94.10 a barrel.CALIFORNIA REJECTS EFFORT TO ACCELERATE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS: California voters have rejected an attempt to overhaul and roll back decades-old environmental rules to make it easier to build highways, housing, and clean energy projects.Known as Proposition 45, the proposed changes to the California Environmental Quality Act failed with 55.9% of voters rejecting the measure, with 77% of the votes in as of Monday morning, according to the Associated Press.CEQA requires state agencies to consider and publicize the environmental impacts of projects before issuing approvals. It also allows the general public to sue and challenge state permits if they believe an agency failed to study or disclose the environmental effects of projects sufficiently.However, the ability for individuals and neighborhood groups to challenge approvals in court has led to yearslong delays for infrastructure projects, including new roads, bridges, housing, water systems, and even solar and wind installations.Prop 45, put forth by the California Chamber of Commerce, aimed to remove legal and regulatory roadblocks by shortening the review process for a certain set of essential projects. It would have set strict deadlines for completing environmental review documents and limited how projects are challenged in court.Read more from Callie here.COP31 BEGINS IN TURKEY: The United Nations’ annual climate conference has kicked off today in Antalya, Turkey, where leaders are asking countries to speed up the fight against climate change.“Every recent COP has delivered strides forward. This one must too,” UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said. “The urgency of this moment must drive us forward. Global heating is already costing the earth.”The conference this year will focus on electrification. The host country Turkey is pushing for nations to reach an agreement to increase the global electrification rate from 23% to 35% by 2035.COP31’s agenda will also focus on methane and waste reduction, climate finance commitments, climate-resilient cities, food security, and much more.The meeting comes as this year is set to become the second-warmest on record, with the chance of tying or exceeding the record from 2024. The U.S. will not be in attendance at this year’s conference. The conference is set to last until Nov. 20.ANTHROPIC SIGNS $3.4B DEAL TO GENERATE GAS-FIRED POWER FOR DATA CENTERS: Anthropic has secured a deal worth about $3.4 billion for gas-fired power generation for data centers, The Financial Times reported yesterday.The company bought commitments for 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty generators for $3.4 billion in late September from OnePWR Solutions, a Texas-based equipment supplier.The company did not acquire OnePWR, but the deal included engineering and construction capabilities needed to install generators, FT reported. Also, none of OnePWR’s employees transferred to Anthropic. The transaction is one of the largest known single purchases of power-generation equipment by an AI lab.A LOOK AHEAD:Nov. 9 – 11 The U.S. Chamber is hosting the B20 Summit in Washington, D.C.Nov. 9 – 20 COP31 takes place in Antalya, Turkey.Nov. 9 The Senate will vote on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act.Nov. 10 The New Nuclear Capital 2026 summit is taking place in New York, New York.Nov. 10 Advanced Energy United is holding a virtual post-election briefing, discussing what the midterm results mean for the clean energy transition.Nov. 10 Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is scheduled to speak at the Daily Caller headquarters for an event titled “Permission to Build: Permitting Reform Across American Industry”Nov. 13 The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting a virtual discussion on strengthening the grid.Nov. 13 Common Charge and Advanced Energy United are hosting a webinar titled “Data Centers and Local Power: New Models for Community Benefits.”Nov. 15 The Black Owners of Solar Services (B.O.S.S.) Inaugural Conference is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada.RUNDOWNWashington Examiner Data centers face uphill battle with incoming Democratic governorsBloomberg Which AI Chatbots Have the Highest Emissions? Here’s What We KnowPolitico New climate reality outruns the old COP agenda