The biggest winner from AI — at least aside from the tech industry — might surprise you. Of all the industries jockeying to capitalize on the rise in artificial intelligence, the electric power sector is practically salivating. AI is power-hungry and its tech boosters are ready to spend. But it may not be so easy...
Author: Politico
GOP senators place holds on Trump Treasury nominees in renewable energy standoff
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Curtis (R-Utah) have placed holds on three of President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Treasury Department, a significant escalation of the battle between key Republican lawmakers and the administration over renewable energy tax breaks in the sprawling megalaw. The actions follow a so-far unsuccessful effort by a handful of Senate Republicans to meet with Treasury...
China’s head start on clean energy is shaping the debate on the Republicans’ megabill
Read the article in Politico here.
EU exploring weaker 2040 climate goal
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra is considering options to soften the bloc’s 2040 climate goal as he tries to contain a backlash against Europe’s climate ambitions. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, is expected to propose legislation in the coming weeks to adopt a previously announced target to cut 90 percent of greenhouse gas pollution...
5 takeaways in the EU’s big agriculture (and food) vision
The European Commission published its long-term “vision”for the European Union’s agriculture and food policy on Wednesday, setting out ambitions for a sector that has been at the center of political protests, trade tensions and regulatory headaches. Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen’s paper lays out a roadmap through 2040, promising better conditions for farmers, fairer supply chains, and...
Baltic countries sever final power ties with Russia
Europe’s Baltic nations have cut themselves off from the Russian electricity grid for the first time in history, ending a precarious, decades-long energy partnership with Moscow. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will connect to the EU’s power system on Sunday, roughly 20 years after joining the bloc and cementing a westward trajectory. The Soviet-designed network will still...
Trump kicks off potentially messy fight over Biden’s infrastructure money
An executive order by President Donald Trump requiring agencies to stop paying money for two mammoth Biden-era laws could bring a wide range of infrastructure, transportation and energy projects to a halt — including those already delivering jobs to Republican-led states. The language in question, in one of dozens of orders Trump issued on his first...
Trump taps loyalist Rollins for USDA chief in surprise pick
If confirmed, Rollins will also oversee the country’s largest anti-hunger program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It provides food aid benefits to more than 40 million low-income Americans and Republicans are eyeing ways to rein in future spending on the program as part of a major 2025 reconciliation package, as POLITICO has reported. She...
The Trump team’s plan to resuscitate a dead oil project
Donald Trump is looking to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day back in the White House, according to three people familiar with the president-elect’s plan, even though no companies are trying to build it anymore. Trump believes declaring the 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska crude project back on the table would drive the pro-oil...
Trump names Interior nominee Burgum to head new National Energy Council
President-elect Donald Trump is putting Doug Burgum at the center of his incoming administration’s energy initiatives, naming his nominee to head the Interior Department to a czar role that will coordinate a push across the federal government to rev up energy production. In his new position, Burgum will lead a new National Energy Council, which...









