WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! If you think it’s a little hazy today, you’re not wrong. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is moving into parts of the East Coast, making air quality in places like Washington, D.C., unhealthy for sensitive groups. Air quality in the region is expected to be worsened by fires for the next few days, so be sure to stay safe out there! 🔥💨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.Hawaii’s Democratic governor Josh Green is supporting a bid to construct a brand new liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of O’ahu, as part of his broader effort to reduce the island state’s reliance on oil.
At the end of 2024, the Energy Information Administration estimated that 91.9% of Hawaii’s electric power sector consumed petroleum and petroleum products, while only 8.1% was made up of renewable energy resources. Over 10 years ago, the state committed to having its entire grid system run on 100% renewable electricity. But committing to that so soon was a “mistake,” Green said this summer. “We made a mistake not having a more balanced energy plan,” he told Hawaii Public Radio, saying it committed the state to having a lot more “greenhouse gas problems.” He projected confidence that the state can use LNG as a “bridge fuel” to cleaner alternatives like wind and solar. Some environmentalists, though, claim it will undermine Hawaii’s clean energy agenda. With electricity prices expected to surge by 20-30% in the state, Daily on Energy spoke with the state’s two Democratic senators this week to find out if they support the governor’s efforts. Both Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono distanced themselves from the issue. Hirono told Daily on Energy that there are still a lot of questions surrounding the development of the LNG terminal, as the governor must get approval from the Public Utilities Commission. “This is where he wants to go,” she said of Green. “All I would like to focus on is continuing to support alternatives and renewables.” Schatz also pointed to the role of state regulators, saying, “There’s a reason we have a public utilities commission, which is independent when they analyze all these things, so it’s a state-level decision.”While he hopes the state will continue on a path towards clean energy, “exactly how we get there is a matter of law, not my call.” Hawaii Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda did not respond to our request for comment. CONSERVATIONISTS CHALLENGE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT ROLLBACK:
