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DETAILS ABOUT THE RISK FACING ZAPORIZHZHIA: Inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency said today that they are “gravely concerned” about the “unprecedented” situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, calling for a security zone and other interim measures to help stave off nuclear disaster.

IAEA inspectors who visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant warned in a new report published this morning of a situation that is “not sustainable,” and “could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety,” months after it fell to Russian control.

The 50-page report details alarming conditions at the Russian-occupied facility. The team observed physical damage caused by heavy shelling, including in areas close to the plant’s reactor buildings. Shelling also took place while the UN team was inspecting the facility, forcing inspectors to take cover on the ground floor of an administration building.

Ukrainian staffers told IAEA that Russian troops had lined its turbine halls with military equipment, and, in one instance, had placed two armored personnel carriers and six special trucks in Zaporizhzhia’s repair zone.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi will brief the UN security council this afternoon.

Fighting continues nearby. During a fire caused by shelling late Monday evening, Ukrainian operators at Zaporizhzhia “deliberately disconnected” the plant’s only backup power transmission line linking it to the grid in order to extinguish the fire, officials said.

It risked putting the facility’s entire cooling system in peril for the second time in as many weeks, threatening catastrophe.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said yesterday that heavy fighting in the area prevented fire crews from accessing the blaze. “The world is once again on the brink of a nuclear disaster,” Galushchenko said in a statement. “The de-occupation of the [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] and the creation of a demilitarized zone around it is the only way to ensure nuclear safety.”

Grossi said two IAEA experts will remain at Zaporizhzhia. Their continued presence will help ensure safe operations and give them the ability to provide independent assessments, he told reporters. The agency, he vowed, is “not moving” from the facility.

That decision was praised by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. “There are Russian troops now who don’t understand what’s happening, don’t assess the risks correctly,” he said. Ukrainian operators tasked with running the facility “need some kind of protection” from the Russians, he said, “people from the international community standing by their side and telling them, ‘don’t touch these people, let them work.’”

How big is the risk of a meltdown? Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Adm. James Stavridis said yesterday on MSNBC that he believes the risk of nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia is “equally high” to Fukushima. Though the two had very different origins, he said they are similar because of the potential to “put hundreds of millions of people at stake with radiation.”

"The risks are high. It's extraordinarily dangerous,” said Joseph Cirincione, a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. “We're hanging by a thread," he also said on MSNBC.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia last night of using Zaporizhzhia as a “nuclear weapon.” The shelling that disconnected Zaporizhzhia from the grid showed Russia “does not care what the IAEA will say” in its report, he said.

(On Sunday, he told ABC News that their occupation of the sprawling nuclear facility is the equivalent of Russia controlling “six Chernobyls.”)

What’s at stake: Scientists from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center published a new report yesterday forecasting where—and how far— radioactive contamination from Zaporizhzhia would spread in the event of a nuclear incident.

At least six countries would be directly affected: Scientists said the radioactive emissions would be transmitted through southern Ukraine, including Crimea, before passing over the Black Sea and moving through Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania. Other countries, including Slovakia and Poland, could also be affected.

Whether or not the grave warnings will make a difference remains to be seen. In the nearby city of Enerhodar, the mayor reported a massive blast this afternoon, which cut off its more than 50,000 residents from power and water supplies. (The cause of the blast is unclear.)

"While the ongoing shelling has not yet triggered a nuclear emergency, it continues to represent a constant threat to nuclear safety and security with potential impact on critical safety functions that may lead to radiological consequences with great safety significance," IAEA officials wrote.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Jeremy Beaman (@jeremywbeaman) and Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep). Email [email protected] or [email protected] 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.

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OPEC+ ANNOUNCES SMALL PRODUCTION CUT WITH BIG IMPLICATIONS: OPEC+ countries, including Russia, announced they will slash production targets by some 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from October—a small reduction but one that threatens to exacerbate the ongoing energy crisis in the West. The announcement also comes just days after G-7 leaders finally reached consensus on a Russian oil price cap plan, likely infuriating Moscow, which has vowed not to sell any oil to consumers who abide by the cap.

Last month, OPEC increased production by a meager 100,000 bpd, seen by some as an act of defiance to President Joe Biden, who had urged Saudi Arabia to increase production during his visit to Riyadh weeks earlier.

Analysts said the move is largely symbolic: “It’s more of a political snub to [Biden] as well as the European Union, signaling that OPEC is going to go its own way and they want to protect those higher prices,” Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates, told CNBC. ″[They’re] basically saying—look, we have been talking about a cut. A cut is totally within our power and we very well may put through a cut that would be much more significant than this.”

Oil prices jumped following the announcement, with futures for international benchmark Brent crude rising by 3.7% to more than $96 per barrel, and futures for U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbing by 3.3% to $89.79 a barrel.

Though prices are well below July futures, which went as high as $123, analysts cautioned things could get worse in the months ahead, especially following the implementation of the G-7 oil price cap in December.

As Lipow told CNBC, the price cap does not include an incentive to reduce demand. “What it means is that the governments around Europe are gonna be printing money to send to the consumers, and going deeper into debt,” he said.

MACRON TELLS FRANCE NOT TO SET HEAT ABOVE 66 DEGREES THIS WINTER: French President Emmanuel Macron called for a sharp 10% reduction in energy use amid the ongoing supply crisis in Europe, saying yesterday that curbing energy use is a “necessary” step to avoid the risk of rationing and other mandatory cuts this winter.

Macron stressed in comments to reports yesterday the importance of using less air conditioning and heat. In the winter, he said, temperatures indoors should not surpass 66 degrees Fahrenheit.

Macron said that energy rationing plans are being prepared “in case” they are needed in France, though he emphasized that such cuts “will happen as a last resort. “The best energy is that which we don’t consume,” he told reporters.

Good news for Germany: Macron, whose country is less dependent on Russian gas supplies, said France is ready to assist Berlin with additional supplies this winter in the event of a supply emergency.

"We are going to complete the gas connections that will allow us to deliver gas to Germany," Macron told reporters following a virtual meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

DUTCH AGRICULTURE MINISTER RESIGNS AMID WIDESPREAD POLLUTION PROTESTS: Dutch agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer abruptly resigned today after nine months, saying he was not the right person to lead an ambitious overhaul of the Dutch farming sector as it moves to comply with the EU’s Nitrate Directive and curb emissions from fertilizer and livestock.

He will be temporarily replaced by former agriculture minister, Carola Schouten.

Dutch leaders called for a 30% reduction in the country’s livestock earlier this year, a step it described as necessary in delivering on its climate goals.

But in some areas, the government's cuts could reach as high as 70% — which Dutch farmers argue would force many to either massively scale back production or to shut down operations completely. The planned cuts sparked massive protests this summer, where crowds used tractors, trucks, and bales of hay to block canals, roads, and halt activity at key distribution centers.

Farming and agriculture are the backbone of the Dutch economy: Though it is just slightly larger than the state of Maryland, the Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural goods, behind only the U.S., and its exports in that sector totaled roughly 105 billion euros last year alone.

CONOCOPHILLIPS AND JERA ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR U.S. HYDROGEN GAS PROJECT: ConocoPhillips announced it is partnering with Japanese utility JERA to develop a U.S. hydrogen production plant. The agreement could be a game-changer for natural gas producers, Reuters reports, theoretically allowing them to use their gas supply to produce hydrogen which will then be converted into exportable ammonia for sale.

A study to determine the project’s feasibility could be completed before the end of the year, JERA said, noting that it is eyeing several areas along the Gulf Coast for the facility’s location. Meanwhile, Conoco and other companies have started lining up long-term supply contracts with LNG developers in anticipation of the effort.

JERA CEO Steven Winn said the facility could be operational within five to eight years, adding that the joint venture will allow for a “low-cost ammonia supplier to domestic and international markets.”

RECORD ENERGY DEMAND EXPECTED IN CALIFORNIA: California Independent System Operator said yesterday that peak demand should hit 51,145 megawatts today, which would set a new record from the previous high of 50,270 MW in 2006.

The state is under a flex alert again today.

CAISO president and CEO Elliot Mainzer said that “This is an extraordinary heat event we are experiencing, and the efforts by consumers to lean in and reduce their energy use after 4 p.m. are absolutely essential.”

We’ll see how it goes…

TRUMP TESTS OUT ANTI-ELECTRIC VEHICLE TALKING POINTS: In case you missed it, former President Donald Trump tried out a few lines of attacks on electric vehicles in Pennsylvania over the weekend while stumping for GOP candidates.

Trump cited a call from a friend who struggled charging his EV while traveling from Kentucky to D.C. “Please let's get rid of this stuff. Please,” he quoted the friend as saying.

The criticism wasn’t particularly pointed or sustained, but it suggests that a 2024 candidate Trump would not look favorably on the new and expanded tax credits created by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Rundown

Wall Street Journal NASA struggles with familiar problem on Artemis I: A hydrogen leak

New York Times Climate change is ravaging the Colorado River. There’s a model to avert the worst.

E&E News Embattled Maine power line foreshadows U.S. climate obstacles

Reuters UK weighs huge support package as Europe battles energy crisis

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Calendar

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 7

11 a.m. The U.S. Department of Energy is holding a virtual meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to discuss semiconductor research and development. Learn more and register here.

2:30 p.m. 406 Dirksen The Senate Environment and Public Works’ Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety will consider the nominations of three pending members of the Tennessee Valley Authority.