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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 05/07/2025

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It is absolutely time to put this to a vote.

E&E News (5/7/25) reports: "Senate Republicans are hinting they will take up legislation to undo Biden-era waivers for California’s new clean car rules, including a leadership post on social media Tuesday. But Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, who will ultimately decide whether to call a vote on House-passed resolutions, says discussions remain open. The Senate Republican Conference, in a post on the social media site X, suggested the party would target waivers that allow California to push for electric vehicles and other zero-emission cars. The post came after Democrats warned the majority against pulling the trigger, arguing the resolutions would run afoul of a rule-killing law. The X account @SenateGOP said, 'A Biden-era rule let California push mass adoption of EVs on other states. Senate Republicans are repealing it — we won’t let Democrats raise costs on Americans in the name of climate hysteria.' Similarly, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the former Energy and Natural Resources ranking member, told Axios last week the chamber would 'absolutely' take up the resolutions."

"The Inflation Reduction Act is paralyzing the nation’s electricity grid at the worst possible time."

– Mario Loyola,
The Heritage Foundation

Defending and expanding access to reliable energy is essential for the future of civilization.

Stand Together (5/7/25) blog: "Technology and energy have always been inseparable. Every breakthrough, from the first sailing ships to modern AI, has required energy to power its development and widespread use. In 2025, as computing and AI take center stage, the demand for energy is surging to unprecedented levels. But is this growth sustainable?...As we look ahead, what sources will fuel this explosion of digital progress? Will the energy sector be able to keep up? And what happens if it doesn't?...So, the answer to the question of how you power tech is: If the tech is computing, it’s mostly with electricity. However, that doesn’t include the energy needed to build the extremely energy-intensive information hardware in the first place — the silicon chips, fibers, and steel and concrete used to house everything. Making a ton of silicon chips takes 1,000 times more energy than making a ton of steel...So, all the hydrocarbons are used to make computing equipment and the associated infrastructures, and then they need a surprising amount of electricity to operate. Every $10 billion of data centers — and the tech industry is talking about spending hundreds of billions — will use about $10 – $20 billion of electricity over a decade of the useful operating life of the chips. For calibration, $10 billion worth of electric cars would use one-tenth as much electricity."

Even some Democrats are fans of this little thing called freedom.

New York Times (5/6/25) reports: "Representative Lou Correa, a Democrat who represents parts of Orange County, Calif., drives a hybrid car and wants the federal government to tackle climate change. But he joined 34 other Democrats last week to help Republicans repeal his state’s landmark requirement that all new vehicles sold in California be electric or otherwise nonpolluting by 2035. In doing so, he helped President Trump and the Republican majority to undercut the nation’s transition away from gasoline-powered cars...Thomas J. Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative research group that supports fossil fuels, said opponents just had a better argument. 'At the end of the day people realized they don’t want to be forced into certain types of vehicles.' Mr. Pyle said. 'People will vote with their pocketbooks, and the price of E.V.s for a lot of people are out of reach.'"

The Senate needs to take a cue from the House and consumers. These things aren't popular.

Wall Street Journal (5/7/25) reports: "The electric-vehicle industry hit a pothole in April. Sales of EVs in the U.S. fell by around 5% during the month, according to estimates from the research firm Motor Intelligence, while the broader car market grew by 10%. Monthly EV sales in the U.S. have only declined three times since 2021. The declines were across most brands, from Kia and Hyundai to Ford. Tesla, which has accounted for around half of EV sales in the U.S., reported that sales dropped nearly 13%. Sales of Rivian’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV declined by half. On Tuesday, Rivian cut its sales outlook for the year by around 5,000 units, citing the impact of President Trump’s trade policy on EV demand...Pohanka said a lot of market forces are making it difficult to predict what will happen with EV sales. 'It’s whipsawing back and forth,' he said. 'It’s kind of hard to look at one month and say that’s the trend.' Dealers have often cited bargain-basement deals as one of the biggest reasons customers bought an EV."