WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! We hope you all had a restful weekend. The House is out of town, but the Senate remains in D.C. for two more weeks before the scheduled August recess to take on several key legislative priorities.
But, as for tomorrow, the memorial service for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina will be held at the National Cathedral, where President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to attend.
In today’s newsletter, we take a closer look at how political candidates in the Texas Senate race are approaching the expansion of data centers.
We also have other news items for you, including that critical mineral industry insiders said the sector is not on track to meet Trump’s Jan. 1 deadline to end imports of rare earths and other key materials from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.
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.
TALARICO CAMPAIGNS ON DATA CENTER SKEPTICISM IN TEXAS SENATE RACE:
James Talarico has joined the rush of political candidates calling for greater regulation of data center construction and is criticizing his opponents as tools of Big Tech.
Last week, the Democratic Senate candidate proposed requiring data centers to protect the electric grid and the environment, repealing state tax exemptions for development, mandating that projects pay for required infrastructure, and giving local communities the authority to approve or reject new facilities.
Why Texas is of particular importance: Texas is expected to have a massive expansion of data centers in the next few years. The Texas Tribune said that at least 248 data center projects are planned across the state.
A poll last month showed that nearly 56% of registered voters in Texas oppose the development of data centers in their communities. In other words, Texas is part of a broader trend of antipathy toward data center construction, much of it rooted in fears about electricity consumption, water use, and noise.
Frank Maisano, senior principal at Bracewell Law, told Maydeen that data centers have not done a good job at addressing concerns raised by communities.
“You’ve got to start building bridges before you can build projects,” Maisano said. “You have to be a partner of that community. Whether you’re building a wind turbine project, whether you’re building a pipeline, or whether you’re building a data center. I just don’t think that the hyperscalers have done well enough.”
The political implications: Talarico bashed data-center-friendly politicians as responsible for higher utility bills. “Billionaire-backed politicians are giving sweetheart tax deals to giant AI companies and then sticking us with the bill,” he said.
Talarico’s Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has yet to officially share his stance on data centers.
But Republicans in the state have increasingly been open to imposing rules on data center development. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed regulations for data centers aimed at addressing concerns over taxation, energy demand, and environmental impacts. Talarico’s new stance is close to Abbott’s.
“Initially, Texas Republicans were 100% gung ho on data centers,” Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, told Maydeen.
Data center developers have been seeking out development mainly in rural communities, which typically favor GOP candidates, creating “real consternation in rural areas where people see their quality of life, their water resources, and even their electricity as being under threat by the establishment of these big data centers,” Jones said.
Jones said that he expects Paxton to mirror Abbott’s data center stance.
“Greg Abbott is the quarterback of Texas Republicans,” Jones said.
“The statewide campaign in November 2026 will be led by Abbott more than any other single Republican, and so he is already setting the tone related to data centers, highlighting how he is going to push back against data centers,” he said.
All the rest
OIL PRICES DROP ON PAUSE IN IRAN CONFLICT: Oil prices dropped since the U.S. and Iran paused fighting over the weekend.
Just before 3 p.m. ET, Brent crude dropped about 8% to $88.69 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate fell by 7.1% to $82.94.
The pause in strikes this weekend is to give “talks some space,” U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told NBC yesterday. Tehran, however, has noted that there are currently no negotiations with the U.S.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, a Ukrainian drone hit an Iranian vessel, raising concerns that the war in the Middle East will escalate.
DOE ISSUES EMERGENCY ORDERS FOR GRID OPERATOR: The Department of Energy over the weekend issued emergency orders to a grid operator serving 17 states to dispatch backup power to prevent rolling blackouts amid the heatwave.
The order directed Southwest Power Pool to deploy generation units to maintain grid reliability and to operate backup generation resources as a last resort before declaring a level three emergency alert. SPP previously warned that extreme heat could cause emergency conditions, prompting the DOE to issue the emergency order, Reuters reported.
SPP on Friday noted that its West region will remain under a conservation operations advisory until Aug. 1, citing peak demands from high temperatures and low output of wind and other renewables.
HISTORIC WILDFIRES IN SPAIN AND FRANCE: Over 300,000 people have evacuated their homes as historic wildfires continue to burn in France and Spain, with the European Union calling it “one of the biggest evacuation operations in Europe.”
The fires are occurring in the southwest of France and near Spain’s capital, Madrid. The fire in France began last week and has burned nearly 104,000 acres. In Spain, about 190,000 acres have burned.
Heat waves and drought conditions have helped to fuel the fires in Europe. The EU has sent seven planes and four helicopters from several European countries to help fight the flames.
CRITICAL MINERALS INDUSTRY NOT ON TRACK TO MEET TRUMP SOURCING DEADLINE: Sixteen industry insiders surveyed by Reuters said that the industry is not on track to meet Trump’s Jan. 1 deadline to end imports of rare earths, magnets, tungsten, molybdenum and tantalum from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.
Trump signed an executive order last week limiting waivers to regulations requiring defense contractors to source the minerals domestically. But the domestic industry is far from being able to meet requirements.
For example: The U.S. has not produced tungsten since 2015. Guardian Metal Resources is aiming to open a mine, but it won’t be before 2028. Tantalum hasn’t been mined in the U.S. since 1959. The planned Lion Rock Resources mine in South Dakota has no timeline for opening.
A LOOK AHEAD:
July 27-28 Citizens’ Climate Lobby holds its annual Summer Conference on Capitol Hill.
July 28 The World Resources Institute holds two virtual discussions on bioeconomy in Africa and Brazil’s beef and soy supply chains.
July 28 Secure Energy to host a webinar on the release of its newest report “Critical Moves: Crowding in Capital to Finance Minerals Supply Chains.”
July 28 The Business Council for Sustainable Energy holds a webinar on the Energy Department’s new home energy rebate program notices.
July 28 U.S. Energy Association holds an event on AI infrastructure, national security, and economic resilience.
July 29 The Foreign Policy Research Institute Asia Program holds a forum on a shipbuilding alliance across the Indo-Pacific.
July 29 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing to consider geothermal and public lands legislation.
RUNDOWN
Politico Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp isn’t done with EVs
Inside Climate News California Marine Sanctuaries Face Threats of New Trump-Backed Offshore Oil Leases
Grist ‘Climate hushing’ has swept the Democratic Party. New polling suggests it’s a mistake.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
