Daily on Energy: The Constitution Pipeline gets a national security boost

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! There are 15 days until the midterm elections, with early voting starting today in Texas. 🗳️ President Donald Trump has a full week ahead. He will be traveling to some key Senate races, including Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina, and Florida. Check out the president’s stops ahead of the election here.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.The Trump administration is using national defense authorities to invest more than $40 million on building the Constitution Pipeline, a controversial natural gas pipeline project President Donald Trump vowed to revive after it was blocked by New York state for years. The Department of Energy announced this morning that it is using Defense Production Act funding to advance the project, providing up to $42 million.The administration has used this Cold War-era law several times over the last few weeks to accelerate the development of fossil fuel projects, including pipelines and refineries, as well as transmission infrastructure in Alaska.Trump signed multiple executive orders in April, allowing agencies to use DPA funding, declaring the development, manufacturing, and deployment of large-scale energy infrastructure as critical to national defense.A quick reminder: The Constitution Pipeline is a 125-mile natural gas pipeline project that would deliver natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New England.The project first received federal approval in 2014, but was later blocked by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration as officials denied developer Williams Companies water quality permits required under the Clean Water Act. The project was ultimately abandoned and canceled in 2020.In the early months of the second Trump administration, though, Williams moved quickly to revive its permits to construct the pipeline. In May of last year, Williams confirmed it was in conversations with state officials and local regulators regarding the project.The timing of Williams’ renewed interest in the Constitution Pipeline coincided with an apparent agreement made between Trump and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul over the administration’s pause on an offshore wind farm.At the time, many speculated that the administration pressured Hochul to allow pipeline projects to move forward in exchange for Trump allowing the wind farm to continue construction.Who will buy the gas? While the project has federal backing, it remains unclear if developers have secured customers who would actually buy the gas pumped through the pipeline.In July, Bloomberg reported that not a single utility had announced a purchase agreement regarding the project, which has been in the works for more than 10 years.Consolidated Edison, which provides electricity to all of New York City and much of downstate New York, told the outlet at the time that it had no plans to purchase gas from the project. The company declined to comment when we reached out to them today.Other major utilities in New England, including Eversource, National Grid, and Avangrid, did not respond to our request for comment.Unitil, which services parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, told Daily on Energy that it has not entered any purchase agreements related to the Constitution Pipeline, and said the project “does not currently serve locations that align with our system needs.”Williams did not answer Daily on Energy’s inquiry regarding whether the company has signed purchase agreements with prospective customers. Instead, spokesperson Cherice Corley told Callie that the Northeast region “continues to face significant natural gas supply constraints that drive up costs for families and businesses and increase reliance on higher-emission fuels.”“The Constitution pipeline is designed to help address those challenges by delivering reliable, affordable energy to the region while supporting economic growth and emissions reductions,” Corley continued. “Williams remains committed to working through the regulatory process to advance this important infrastructure project.” All the rest: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFERS DEEP-SEA MINING OFF THE COAST OF AMERICAN SAMOA: The Trump administration plans to offer the first-ever offshore lease sale to allow for deep-sea mining of critical minerals.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it would offer two areas totaling nearly 32 million acres off the coast of American Samoa for deep sea mining. It would allow companies to recover polymetallic nodules, which are potato-size rocks on the sea floor that contain minerals like cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, and nickel.The lease auction is set to take place on Nov. 19.Plans to offer offshore leases in the region are already facing legal challenges brought by Faʻasao Amerika Samoa and Conservation Council for Hawaii, which is being represented by Earthjustice. The groups filed a lawsuit over the summer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.Read more by Maydeen here.GEOTHERMAL LEASE SALE OVERLAPPING WITH SOLAR PROJECTS: Early this week, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is holding a lease sale for 83 parcels of land spanning more than 265,000 acres for geothermal development – several of which were going to be developed for solar.Federal documents reviewed by Reuters reveal that multiple parcels set to be offered in tomorrow’s auction overlap with roughly 6,000 acres of where NextEra Energy planned to build its Sawtooth Energy Center in Nye County, Nevada. This overlapping section makes up roughly 60% of the area where the 1,000 megawatt solar farm would be built.Reuters reported that in maps published in August by BLM showed six proposed geothermal parcels overlapping with four solar projects in Nevada.NextEra Energy asked BLM to remove, defer, or reconfigure three of the proposed parcels. The agency reportedly denied the request and told the company that federal lands are managed for multiple uses.SPEAKING OF GEOTHERMAL…FIRST SEABED WELL DRILLED: About 300 miles off the coast of Oregon late last month, a Seattle-based startup made history: it generated electricity using the heat of an underwater volcano.Endurance Energy announced today that its Adélie test plant, located on the seafloor about a mile below the surface, generated more electricity than it used – albeit for just under 9 seconds.The test took place at Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano in the Pacific. It is reportedly the only place in the world that has a cluster of hydrothermal vents connected to the main shore via a fiber optic cable, according to Heatmap.Using subsea cables, Endurance Energy aims to monitor and control its geothermal well in real time from the mainland. In other words, the company believes its system would allow for a power plant to be completely controlled from the shore, significantly reducing the offshore footprint.“We can access terawatts of power. There’s no fuel. We can site next to extremely large cities around the Pacific. We have no surface presence,” CEO Andrew Redd told Heatmap.Endurance plans to deploy another well this winter, with the hope of achieving longer electricity generation. It is also developing a 2-megawatt commercial generator. The company’s first commercial project is being developed in the Kingdom of Tonga, with the aim of achieving first power in 2027.AMAZON INKS ANOTHER NUCLEAR DEAL: Tech giant Amazon is funding the development of a small modular nuclear plant in Indiana, which will be developed by nuclear startup X-Energy and American Electric Power.The plant is expected to have a capacity of 960 megawatts, enough power to support over 770,000 homes. The facility will be made up of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors, and is set to be developed near the former site of a retired coal plant.Under the agreement, Amazon will be the first customer to purchase power from the nuclear facility.This marks the second nuclear energy agreement between Amazon and X-Energy. The first was announced almost exactly two years ago, for the development of four small modular reactors in Washington state.OIL PRICES FALL AFTER TRUMP WAIVES RUSSIA SANCTIONS: Oil prices dropped today following Trump waiving sanctions on Russia.As of this afternoon, West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.64% to $98.38 per barrel and Brent crude has dropped 0.51% to $109.35 per barrel.The drop in oil prices comes as Trump on Friday signed an executive order waiving sanctions and tariffs on Russia. The president in recent days also struck a deal with the Kremlin to supply diesel fuel to the international markets in an effort to curb prices.Still, the president’s deals have not slowed down the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.Ukraine over the weekend launched one of the biggest drone attacks on Russia, hitting a key oil terminal.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early today that a wave of Russian missile attacks overnight hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, noting that Ukraine received no early warning of the attack from partner countries.EUROPEAN UNION TO DROP EFFORTS FOR GLOBAL DRILLING BAN IN THE ARCTIC: The European Union plans to abandon the effort it launched in 2021 to push for a global ban on new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, the Financial Times reports.ICYMI – CHINA TO CONSIDER EXPORT CONTROLS ON SOLAR EQUIPMENT: China, the world’s largest solar manufacturer, is considering export controls on 12 solar technologies to safeguard national security.Reuters reported that on Friday the ministry of commerce proposed adding photovoltaic technologies to China’s export-control list.China has already rolled back exports of solar technology to India. In September, Chinese solar power equipment exports dropped 6.4% compared to the same month last year.A LOOK AHEAD:Oct. 19 the Illinois Renewable Energy Conference is taking place in Normal, Illinois.Oct. 20 the Center for Strategic and International Studies is releasing a new report regarding national security benefits from offshore wind farms.Oct. 20 The Environmental Law Institute is holding its annual award dinner in Washington, D.C.Oct. 20 – 22 The Business of Biogas conference is taking place in St. Louis, Missouri.Oct. 21 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is hosting its Reliability Technical Conference.Oct. 21 – 23 The Renewable Thermal Collaborative Summit is being held in Arlington, Virginia.Oct. 22 Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, is hosting an Energy Security and Reliability Summit.Oct. 22 The American Council on Renewable Energy is holding its 2026 Grid Forum.Oct. 23 Advanced Energy United is holding a webinar discussing opportunities for distributed energy resources in California.Oct. 24 is the Washington, D.C., James W. Foley Freedom Run, a 5K honoring the late journalist.RUNDOWNThe Guardian US workers facing deadly heat borrow from tomato pickers to win key protectionsInside Climate News The Most Annoying Neighbor in This San Antonio Subdivision Is a Leaking Oil WellHigh Country News How climate change is messing with the West’s weather