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    U.S. Oil and Gas Association President: The country is facing the ‘most challenging energy crisis’ in 50 years

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    During an interview on “Cavuto Live” U.S. Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart said the U.S. is in the “most challenging” energy crisis in the last 50 years and the Biden administration has “no strategy” to help the U.S. get out of record-high gasoline and diesel prices.

    NATIONAL GAS PRICE AVERAGE HITS NEW RECORD HIGH AT $4.45 PER GALLON

    The Biden Administration canceled oil and gas leases in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

    TIM STEWART: Well, high high is too high for us to afford it, Neil, and that’s a problem which we have. We’re in the greatest, probably the most challenging energy crisis we’ve been in in 50 years. As you said, diesel and gasoline prices are at all-time highs and inventories at all-time lows. And what did the administration do this week? What was their major energy announcement? It was to pull millions of acres of federal leases off the table and potentially trap billions of barrels into the ground. It’s really frustrating. I mean, this administration has no strategy to help us get out of it. And frankly, all the actions that they take are counterproductive to those of us who are trying to solve this problem. 

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    WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

    Grid operators warn of electricity shortage amid switch to renewables: Report

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    Electric-grid operators from across the country are warning of the potential for blackouts as companies attempt to transition to green energy sources.

    “I am concerned about it,” MISO Chief Executive John Bear told the Wall Street Journal in a report Sunday. “As we move forward, we need to know that when you put a solar panel or a wind turbine up, it’s not the same as a thermal resource.”

    Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

    AS GAS PRICES SOAR, EVS OUT OF REACH

    Extreme heat and wildfires over the summer could lead to a shortage of energy in California, the state’s grid operator told WSJ. The Midwest could face similar issues with MISO warning of capacity shortages that could lead to outages.

    The issue is on the rise throughout the country as many traditional and nuclear power plants are being retired to make way for renewable sources of energy, but the plants are going offline faster than renewable energy and battery storage can keep up.

    Wind turbines in Palm Springs, California. (2013 Getty Images)

    Wind and solar farms are among the most popular forms of renewable power generation, but their lack of ability to generate power 24/7 means they have to store some of their energy in batteries for later use. But the development of better battery storage is underway, operators fear it isn’t happening fast enough to replace the retiring plants.

    The risk of outages is heightened this summer, with supply chain issues and inflation slowing the pace developers can get the components needed to build renewable energy farms.

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     Space Coast Next Generation Solar Center, in Merritt Island, Fla. (AP)

    “Every market around the world is trying to deal with the same issue,” Brad Jones, the interim chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told WSJ. “We’re all trying to find ways to utilize as much of our renewable resources as possible…and at the same time make sure that we have enough dispatchable generation to manage reliability.”

    But others have argued for slowing the pace of taking traditional plants offline.

    “We need to make sure that we have sufficient new resources in place and operational before we let some of these retirements go,” Mark Rothleder, the chief operating officer of the California Independent System Operator, told WSJ. “Otherwise, we are putting ourselves potentially at risk of having insufficient capacity.”

    German climate activists shut off oil pipelines to protest North Sea drilling

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    Environmental activists shut down crude oil pipelines throughout Germany on Wednesday to protest the country’s renewed interest in oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. 

    The group, which bills itself as the “Last Generation,” activated shut-off valves at emergency stations for pipelines in Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Greifswald and Koblenz. 

    “We are in a climate emergency! The federal government is not only ignoring this, it plans to fuel it further. Wanting to drill for oil in our North Sea now – that’s madness that you have to stop, Mr. Habeck,” activist Edmund Schulz said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Robert Habeck, the German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. 

    A member of the “Last Generation” activates the emergency shut-off at pipeline in Germany.  (Last Generation)

    Germany is not granting any new permits for oil and gas drilling the North Sea under a coalition agreement between the country’s top parties, but some officials have suggested they may need to rethink that amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven up energy prices around the world. 

    GERMANY TO AUTHORIZE TANK SHIPMENT TO UKRAINE, BENDING TO INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

    “We have to question the decision in the coalition agreement,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the Tagesspiegel newspaper last month. “Due to global market prices developments, this looks more economical.”

    • Industrial facilities of PCK Raffinerie oil refinery are pictured in Schwedt/Oder, Germany, March 7, 2022. The company receives crude oil from Russia via the ‘Friendship’ pipeline. Picture taken March 7, 2022.  (REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke)

    • (REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke)

    Germany buys more than half of its gas from Russia and about a third of its oil imports. 

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    Habeck cut Germany’s growth forecast for this year to 2.2% from 3.6% projected in January, and raised its inflation forecast to 6.1%. 

    Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom cut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria this week over their refusal to pay in rubles, and threatened to do the same to other countries. 

    Reuters contributed to this report. 

    China promotes coal in setback for efforts to cut emissions

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    China is promoting coal-fired power as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive a sluggish economy, prompting warnings Beijing is setting back efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source.

    Official plans call for boosting coal production capacity by 300 million tons this year, according to news reports. That is equal to 7% of last year’s output of 4.1 billion tons, which was an increase of 5.7% over 2020.

    RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE RAMPING UP A NEW COLD WAR AND OUR INDEPENDENCE IS AT RISK

    China is one of the biggest investors in wind and solar, but jittery leaders called for more coal-fired power after economic growth plunged last year and shortages caused blackouts and factory shutdowns. Russia’s attack on Ukraine added to anxiety that foreign oil and coal supplies might be disrupted.

    “This mentality of ensuring energy security has become dominant, trumping carbon neutrality,” said Li Shuo, a senior global policy adviser for Greenpeace. “We are moving into a relatively unfavorable time period for climate action in China.”

    Smoke and steam rise from towers at the coal-fired Urumqi Thermal Power Plant as seen from a plane in Urumqi in western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region April 21, 2021.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

    Officials face political pressure to ensure stability as President Xi Jinping prepares to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as ruling party leader in the autumn.

    Coal is important for “energy security,” cabinet officials said at an April 20 meeting that approved plans to expand production capacity, according to Caixin, a business news magazine.

    The ruling party also is building power plants to inject money into the economy and revive growth that sank to 4% over a year earlier in the final quarter of 2021, down from the full year’s 8.1% expansion.

    CHINA’S XI VOICES SUPPORT FOR TALKS TO RESOLVE INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES, OPPOSES USE OF SANCTIONS

    Governments have pledged to try to limit warming of the atmosphere to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the level of pre-industrial times. Leaders say what they really want is a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

    Scientists say even if the world hits the 2-degree goal in the 2015 Paris climate pact and the 2021 Glasgow follow-up agreement, that still will lead to higher seas, stronger storms, extinctions of plants and animals and more people dying from heat, smog and infectious diseases.

    China is the top producer and consumer of coal. Global trends hinge on what Beijing does.

    China leader Xi Jinping’s speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the CCP left experts sounding the alarm over the American press coverage of the communist nation.  (Shen Hong/Xinhua via Getty )

    The Communist Party has rejected binding emissions commitments, citing its economic development needs. Beijing has avoided joining governments that promised to phase out use of coal-fired power.

    In a 2020 speech to the United Nations, Xi said carbon emissions will peak by 2030, but he announced no target for the amount. Xi said China aims for carbon neutrality, or removing as much from the atmosphere by planting trees and other tactics as is emitted by industry and households, by 2060.

    China accounts for 26.1% of global emissions, more than double the U.S. share of 12.8%, according to the World Resources Institute. Rhodium Group, a research firm, says China emits more than all developed economies combined.

    CHINA’S XI JINPING IS ‘A SILENT PARTNER’ IN PUTIN’S ‘AGGRESSION’ IN UKRAINE, CIA DIRECTOR BURNS WARNS

    Per person, China’s 1.4 billion people on average emit the equivalent of 8.4 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to WRI. That is less than half the U.S. average of 17.7 tons but more than the European Union’s 7.5 tons.

    China has abundant supplies of coal and produced more than 90% of the 4.4 billion tons it burned last year. More than half of its oil and gas is imported, and leaders see that as a strategic risk.

    China’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 appears to be on track, but using more coal “could jeopardize this, or at least slow it down and make it more costly,” Clare Perry of the Environmental Investigations Agency said in an email.

    The Chinese flag flies in front of exhaust rising from a coal-fired power plant in Jiayuguan, Gansu province, China, April 1, 2021. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    Promoting coal will make emissions “much higher than they need to be” by the 2030 peak year, said Perry.

    “This move runs entirely counter to the science,” she said.

    Beijing has spent tens of billions of dollars on building solar and wind farms to reduce reliance on imported oil and gas and clean up its smog-choked cities. China accounted for about half of global investment in wind and solar in 2020.

    Still, coal is expected to supply 60% of its power in the near future.

    BIDEN BANKING ON BEIJING THIRST FOR WORLD MARKET: ‘CHINA UNDERSTANDS ITS ECONOMIC FUTURE IS…TIED TO THE WEST’

    Beijing is cutting millions of jobs to shrink its bloated, state-owned coal mining industry, but output and consumption still are rising.

    Authorities say they are shrinking carbon emissions per unit of economic output. The government reported a reduction of 3.8% last year, better than 2020′s 1% but down from a 5.1% cut in 2017.

    Last year’s total energy use increased 5.2% over 2020 after a revival of global demand for Chinese exports propelled a manufacturing boom, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

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    Stimulus spending also might raise carbon output if it pays for building more bridges, train stations and other public works. That would encourage carbon-intensive steel and cement production.

    China’s coal-fired power plants operate at about half their capacity on average, but building more creates jobs and economic activity, said Greenpeace’s Li. He said even if the power isn’t needed now, local leaders face pressure to make them pay for themselves.

    “That locks China into a more high-carbon path,” Li said. “It’s very difficult to fix.”

    Farms face long-term challenges as production costs continue to skyrocket, fifth-generation farmer says

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    RIPON, Wis. – Rising costs of fertilizer, fuel and equipment could cause long-lasting problems for the agricultural industry, a fifth-generation farming facing the skyrocketing prices told Fox News.

    “It’s going to be a very expensive year for farmers,” Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack Vu-Dairy, said “We are going to the field with very expensive tools in our toolbox.”

    “Fertilizer right now is double what it was a year ago. Fuel is over double what it was,” Pollack continued. “Some chemicals are dramatically increased as much as three to four times.”

    Chris Pollack, fifth generation dairy farmer, speaks to Fox News about the struggles farmers are facing with high input costs (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    IS A NATURAL GAS CRISIS COMING?

    The cost of fertilizer alone has risen more than 300% in some areas, according to the American Farm Bureau.

    Pollack’s dairy farm typically spends around $70,000 on fertilizer per year, the farmer told Fox News. But he said that will likely more than double to around $145,000 this year.

    “If we do not have an adequate supply distribution network and affordable fertilizer, it really does create some concern around long term yields,” said Corey Rosenbusch, who heads the advocacy group The Fertilizer Institute.

    The rise in price is due to a number of factors, including increased demand, supply chain disruptions, increase in energy costs, according to the American Farm Bureau. Even the war in Ukraine plays a role.

    “Natural gas makes up anywhere from 70 to 90% of the production cost of nitrogen,” a necessary component for most fertilizers that farmers use, Rosenbusch said.

    Russia, which faces strict sanctions for its invasion in Ukraine, was the largest natural gas exporter in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration. It and Belarus together export about 20% of the world’s fertilizer.

    Pollack pointed to one tractor and said it would “go through 800 to a thousand gallons of diesel in this year alone.”

    “We’re going to use it either way, but it just makes it that much more expensive to operate,” the farmer, whose family has managed Pollack Vu-Dairy since 1901, added.

    Diesel costs have risen to an average of $5.065 a gallon as of Thursday night, up nearly $2 from a year ago, according to AAA.

    Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack-Vu dairy farm tells Fox News fuel costs have more that doubled (Megan Myers/Fox Digital)

    HIGHER FERTILIZER PRICES COULD MEAN SMALLER CROPS

    Farmers “would like to see a little bit more support,” from the federal government on energy policy, Pollack told Fox News. “We’re all trying to be more green and be more progressive in that sense” but “we still have to make sure the economy is rolling.”

    Price increases across the farm add up to “really big numbers,” spelling “really hard times going forward,” Pollack said.

    While Pollack’s farm primarily focuses on dairy, it also yields a variety of crops to help business through lows and highs in the market. Pollack hopes they will continue the family business for years to come, but he knows rising costs and supply shortages create a difficult path ahead for farmers. 

    Fox News tours Pollack-Vu dairy farm in Ripon, WI. (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    Farmers worry that high demand and supply shortages on equipment and materials will prevent them from being able to get necessary equipment when they need it, Pollack said. If they can’t, or if the costs are too high, crop yields could be limited.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    “There is nothing worse than having a crop in the field and not being able to harvest it when it needs to be,” Pollack said. 

    Rising costs are “going to be a long-term problem” for farmers, he told Fox News. “While some farms might do well, farms that struggle are going to struggle even more.” 

    Pollack said that if costs keep rising and necessary materials don’t become more attainable, it’s going to change “how farming is run.”

    Farms face long-term challenges as production costs continue to skyrocket, fifth-generation farmer says

    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    RIPON, Wis. – Rising costs of fertilizer, fuel and equipment could cause long-lasting problems for the agricultural industry, a fifth-generation farming facing the skyrocketing prices told Fox News.

    “It’s going to be a very expensive year for farmers,” Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack Vu-Dairy, said “We are going to the field with very expensive tools in our toolbox.”

    “Fertilizer right now is double what it was a year ago. Fuel is over double what it was,” Pollack continued. “Some chemicals are dramatically increased as much as three to four times.”

    Chris Pollack, fifth generation dairy farmer, speaks to Fox News about the struggles farmers are facing with high input costs (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    IS A NATURAL GAS CRISIS COMING?

    The cost of fertilizer alone has risen more than 300% in some areas, according to the American Farm Bureau.

    Pollack’s dairy farm typically spends around $70,000 on fertilizer per year, the farmer told Fox News. But he said that will likely more than double to around $145,000 this year.

    “If we do not have an adequate supply distribution network and affordable fertilizer, it really does create some concern around long term yields,” said Corey Rosenbusch, who heads the advocacy group The Fertilizer Institute.

    The rise in price is due to a number of factors, including increased demand, supply chain disruptions, increase in energy costs, according to the American Farm Bureau. Even the war in Ukraine plays a role.

    “Natural gas makes up anywhere from 70 to 90% of the production cost of nitrogen,” a necessary component for most fertilizers that farmers use, Rosenbusch said.

    Russia, which faces strict sanctions for its invasion in Ukraine, was the largest natural gas exporter in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration. It and Belarus together export about 20% of the world’s fertilizer.

    Pollack pointed to one tractor and said it would “go through 800 to a thousand gallons of diesel in this year alone.”

    “We’re going to use it either way, but it just makes it that much more expensive to operate,” the farmer, whose family has managed Pollack Vu-Dairy since 1901, added.

    Diesel costs have risen to an average of $5.065 a gallon as of Thursday night, up nearly $2 from a year ago, according to AAA.

    Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack-Vu dairy farm tells Fox News fuel costs have more that doubled (Megan Myers/Fox Digital)

    HIGHER FERTILIZER PRICES COULD MEAN SMALLER CROPS

    Farmers “would like to see a little bit more support,” from the federal government on energy policy, Pollack told Fox News. “We’re all trying to be more green and be more progressive in that sense” but “we still have to make sure the economy is rolling.”

    Price increases across the farm add up to “really big numbers,” spelling “really hard times going forward,” Pollack said.

    While Pollack’s farm primarily focuses on dairy, it also yields a variety of crops to help business through lows and highs in the market. Pollack hopes they will continue the family business for years to come, but he knows rising costs and supply shortages create a difficult path ahead for farmers. 

    Fox News tours Pollack-Vu dairy farm in Ripon, WI. (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    Farmers worry that high demand and supply shortages on equipment and materials will prevent them from being able to get necessary equipment when they need it, Pollack said. If they can’t, or if the costs are too high, crop yields could be limited.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    “There is nothing worse than having a crop in the field and not being able to harvest it when it needs to be,” Pollack said. 

    Rising costs are “going to be a long-term problem” for farmers, he told Fox News. “While some farms might do well, farms that struggle are going to struggle even more.” 

    Pollack said that if costs keep rising and necessary materials don’t become more attainable, it’s going to change “how farming is run.”

    Farms face long-term challenges as production costs continue to skyrocket, fifth-generation farmer says

    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    RIPON, Wis. – Rising costs of fertilizer, fuel and equipment could cause long-lasting problems for the agricultural industry, a fifth-generation farming facing the skyrocketing prices told Fox News.

    “It’s going to be a very expensive year for farmers,” Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack Vu-Dairy, said “We are going to the field with very expensive tools in our toolbox.”

    “Fertilizer right now is double what it was a year ago. Fuel is over double what it was,” Pollack continued. “Some chemicals are dramatically increased as much as three to four times.”

    Chris Pollack, fifth generation dairy farmer, speaks to Fox News about the struggles farmers are facing with high input costs (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    IS A NATURAL GAS CRISIS COMING?

    The cost of fertilizer alone has risen more than 300% in some areas, according to the American Farm Bureau.

    Pollack’s dairy farm typically spends around $70,000 on fertilizer per year, the farmer told Fox News. But he said that will likely more than double to around $145,000 this year.

    “If we do not have an adequate supply distribution network and affordable fertilizer, it really does create some concern around long term yields,” said Corey Rosenbusch, who heads the advocacy group The Fertilizer Institute.

    The rise in price is due to a number of factors, including increased demand, supply chain disruptions, increase in energy costs, according to the American Farm Bureau. Even the war in Ukraine plays a role.

    “Natural gas makes up anywhere from 70 to 90% of the production cost of nitrogen,” a necessary component for most fertilizers that farmers use, Rosenbusch said.

    Russia, which faces strict sanctions for its invasion in Ukraine, was the largest natural gas exporter in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration. It and Belarus together export about 20% of the world’s fertilizer.

    Pollack pointed to one tractor and said it would “go through 800 to a thousand gallons of diesel in this year alone.”

    “We’re going to use it either way, but it just makes it that much more expensive to operate,” the farmer, whose family has managed Pollack Vu-Dairy since 1901, added.

    Diesel costs have risen to an average of $5.065 a gallon as of Thursday night, up nearly $2 from a year ago, according to AAA.

    Chris Pollack, co-owner of Pollack-Vu dairy farm tells Fox News fuel costs have more that doubled (Megan Myers/Fox Digital)

    HIGHER FERTILIZER PRICES COULD MEAN SMALLER CROPS

    Farmers “would like to see a little bit more support,” from the federal government on energy policy, Pollack told Fox News. “We’re all trying to be more green and be more progressive in that sense” but “we still have to make sure the economy is rolling.”

    Price increases across the farm add up to “really big numbers,” spelling “really hard times going forward,” Pollack said.

    While Pollack’s farm primarily focuses on dairy, it also yields a variety of crops to help business through lows and highs in the market. Pollack hopes they will continue the family business for years to come, but he knows rising costs and supply shortages create a difficult path ahead for farmers. 

    Fox News tours Pollack-Vu dairy farm in Ripon, WI. (Matt Leach/Fox Digital)

    Farmers worry that high demand and supply shortages on equipment and materials will prevent them from being able to get necessary equipment when they need it, Pollack said. If they can’t, or if the costs are too high, crop yields could be limited.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    “There is nothing worse than having a crop in the field and not being able to harvest it when it needs to be,” Pollack said. 

    Rising costs are “going to be a long-term problem” for farmers, he told Fox News. “While some farms might do well, farms that struggle are going to struggle even more.” 

    Pollack said that if costs keep rising and necessary materials don’t become more attainable, it’s going to change “how farming is run.”

    Biden launches $6B effort to save distressed nuclear plants

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.

    A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy told The Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. It’s the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors.

    NUCLEAR POWER IS EXTREMELY SAFE — THAT’S THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED FROM JAPAN

    Owners or operators of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down for economic reasons can apply for funding to avoid closing prematurely. The first round of awards will prioritize reactors that have already announced plans to close.

    The second round will be opened up to more economically at-risk facilities. The program was funded through President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure deal, which he signed into law in November.

    March 15, 2011: The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, where the U.S. suffered its most serious nuclear accident in 1979, is seen across the Susquehanna River in Middletown, Pennsylvania in this night view. (Reuters)

    “U.S. nuclear power plants contribute more than half of our carbon-free electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our clean energy goals,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. “We’re using every tool available to get this country powered by clean energy by 2035, and that includes prioritizing our existing nuclear fleet to allow for continued emissions-free electricity generation and economic stability for the communities leading this important work.”

    A dozen U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors have closed in the past decade before their licenses expired, largely due to competition from cheaper natural gas, massive operating losses due to low electricity prices and escalating costs, or the cost of major repairs.

    BIDEN REVIVES OBAMA-ERA LOAN PROGRAM THAT FUNDED SOLYNDRA AND COST U.S. TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $500 MILLION

    This has led to a rise in emissions in those regions, poorer air quality and the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs, dealing an economic blow to local communities, according to the DOE. A quarter or more of the fleet is at risk, the DOE added. The owners of seven currently operating reactors have already announced plans to retire them through 2025.

    Most U.S. nuclear plants were built between 1970 and 1990 and it’s costing more to operate an aging fleet. The only nuclear plant under construction in the United States is in Georgia. Costs have ballooned and another delay was announced in February.

    The shuttered reactors include Indian Point Energy Center in New York, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska and Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. Entergy cited low natural gas prices and increased operating costs as key factors in its decision to close Indian Point last year. New York officials sought the shutdown, saying the plant 24 miles (39 kilometers) north of Manhattan posed too great a risk to millions of people who live and work nearby.

    Twenty more reactors faced closure in the last decade before states stepped in to save them, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s trade association. Illinois is spending nearly $700 million to keep three plants open while additional renewable resources come online.

    Low electricity prices are the main cause of this trend, though federal and state policies to boost wind and solar have contributed as well, the NEI added.

    DIABLO CANYON, CA – DECEMBER 1: Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant left in California, due to be shutdown in 2024 despite safely producing nearly 15% of the state’s green electrical energy power, is viewed in these aerial photos taken on December 1, 2021, near Avila Beach, California  (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

    There are 55 commercial nuclear power plants with 93 nuclear reactors in 28 U.S. states. Nuclear power already provides about 20% of electricity in the U.S., or about half the nation’s carbon-free energy.

    If reactors do close before their licenses expire, fossil fuel plants will likely fill the void and emissions will increase, which would be a substantial setback, said Andrew Griffith, acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy at DOE.

    While natural gas may be cheaper, nuclear power hasn’t been given credit for its carbon-free contribution to the grid and that has caused nuclear plants to struggle financially, Griffith added.

    The bailout for the nuclear industry is reminiscent of assistance the auto and airline industries received after the 2008 economic collapse and the coronavirus pandemic, respectively.

    SENATE GOP BLASTS ‘BLUE STATE BAILOUT’ IN BIDEN’S $1.9T CORONAVIRUS BILL

    With barely a month left in office, former President George W. Bush authorized $25 billion in loans to General Motors and Chrysler from a $700 billion bailout fund initially intended to save the largest U.S. banks. After President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he appointed a task force to oversee GM and Chrysler, both of which eventually declared bankruptcy. The companies took an additional roughly $55 billion in aid and were forced to close factories and overhaul operations before recovering and adding jobs. Most of the industry’s bailout loans have been repaid.

    More recently, airlines received $54 billion in taxpayer money to keep people employed through the pandemic, but they eliminated tens of thousands of jobs anyway by offering incentives for employees to quit or retire early.

    David Schlissel, at the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said he wishes the federal government, before it allocated the $6 billion, had analyzed whether that money might have been better spent on ramping up renewables, battery storage and energy efficiency projects, which can be done quickly and cheaply to displace fossil fuels.

    Now that the money is already set aside for nuclear plants, the federal tax credits for renewables should be extended and more should be invested in energy efficiency, he said, because the faster that’s done, the faster the nation reduces its dependence on fossil fuels and its emissions. Also, the nuclear plants are going to eventually retire, some sooner than later, so carbon-free sources of energy need to be in place for when they do, he added.

    U.S. Secretary of Energy Secretary Steven Chu speaks during a visit to the Vogtle nuclear power plant Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, in Waynesboro, Ga. Chu’s visit to east Georgia comes a week after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license for the Southern Co. to build a third and fourth reactor at Plant Vogtle. They will be the first commercial reactors built in the U.S. in more than 30 years.  (AP Photo/David Goldman)

    The Sierra Club has a nuclear free campaign that says nuclear is not a solution to climate change, and “every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on truly safe, affordable and renewable energy sources.”

    BONGINO: DESTRUCTION OF US FOSSIL FUEL HAS BEEN BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘ENERGY SUICIDE PLAN’ SINCE DAY 1

    California is slated to close its last remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, in 2025. Officials there think they can replace it with new solar, wind and battery storage resources, though skeptics have questioned whether California’s all-in renewable plan can work in a state of nearly 40 million people.

    The Energy Department intends to accept annual applications for the civil nuclear credit program through fiscal 2031, or until the $6 billion runs out. Nuclear plant owners or operators can bid on credits for financial assistance to keep operating. To qualify, plant owners or operators have to show the reactors are projected to retire for economic reasons and emissions would increase. The department would also determine, with input from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, that they can operate safely.

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    Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of NEI, said she thinks the federal program will level the playing field for nuclear energy and help clear a path to pass even more intensive policies, such as a nuclear production tax credit proposed in Biden’s now-stalled Build Back Better plan.

    Democrats have said they hope to resuscitate parts of the social and environmental package and win over voters weary of the two-year-old pandemic and coping with the worst inflation in decades.

    WATCH: Activists criticizing Sen. Joe Manchin arrested after protesting outside power plant

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    GRANT TOWN, W.Va. – Several climate activists were arrested Saturday after blockading the entrance to a West Virginia power plant as part of an effort to call attention to Sen. Joe Manchin’s ties to the coal industry.

    “Manchin has a lot of power nationwide,” said one protester, who told Fox News the demonstrators came to “call him out on his-self dealing. He’s not doing what the people of West Virginia want and need him to do.”

    Activist explains why she’s participating in the “Coal Baron Blockade” (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)

    A West Virginia University student activist, Ryley Haught, told Fox News: “Manchin profits 500,000 a year from the trucks that bring in that coal, and at the same time he serves as the chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This is a huge conflict of interest.”

    A company Manchin co-founded with his brother paid the West Virginia Democrat nearly $492,000 in 2020, his financial disclosures show. The company, Enersystems Inc., is run by Manchin’s son and sells waste coal to the Grant Town Power Plant, The New York Times reported.

    Protesters called on Manchin to abandon his support for fossil fuels and embrace green energy legislation.

    SEN. JOE MANCHIN SAYS HE’S OPEN TO A NEW VERSION OF BIDEN’S BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA

    “He’s decided that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agenda is better than the agenda for the people of West Virginia and the people of the United States,” Rev. William Barber told a crowd of protesters.

    WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 17: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is followed by reporters as he leaves a caucus meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol Building on December 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. Democrats continue to work on a path forward in regards to the Build Back Better and election reform legislation ahead of the Holiday recess. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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    Marion County sheriffs warned protesters that if they position themselves too close to the Grant Town power plant fencing, they would risk arrest. Within the first 10 minutes of the protest, West Virginia State Police began arresting activists who sat right in front of the fence.

    At least a dozen arrests were made throughout the protest.

    Marion County Sheriff J.C. Riffle (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)

    “We gave them boundaries they could remain in,” Marion County Sheriff J.C. Riffle said. “They chose not to remain in those boundaries.”

    EU council head suggests asylum for Russian deserters

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    European Council president Charles Michel said on Wednesday that European Union countries should think about ways to offer asylum to Russian soldiers willing to desert Ukraine battlefields.

    During an address to the European Parliament, Michel expressed his “outrage at crimes against humanity, against innocent civilians in Bucha and in many other cities,” then called on Russian soldiers to disobey orders.

    ZELENSKYY AND UKRAINE’S FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE AN INSPIRATION, DESERVE MORE OF THE WORLD’S SUPPORT

    Michel referred to the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. He said he wanted to deliver a message to Russian soldiers waging the war started by Moscow against its neighbor on Feb. 24.

    “If you want no part in killing your Ukrainian brothers and sisters, if you don’t want to be a criminal, drop your arms, stop fighting, leave the battlefield,” said Michel, who represents the bloc’s governments.

    Tanya Nedashkivs’ka, 57, mourns the death of her husband, killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Russia is facing a fresh wave of condemnation after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

    Endorsing an idea previously circulated by some EU lawmakers, Michel added that granting asylum to Russian deserters is “a valuable idea that should be pursued.”

    A day after the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia as part of a fifth round of sanctions, Michel said the bloc should keep up the pressure on the Kremlin.

    US CALLS OUT ‘CREDIBLE REPORTS’ OF PUTIN’S FORCES HERDING UKRAINIANS TO ‘FILTRATION CAMPS,’ THEN INTO RUSSIA

    “The new package includes a ban on coal imports,” Michel said. “I think that measures on oil, and even gas, will also be needed, sooner or later.”

    The European Commission said the proposed ban on coal imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year, and that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

    A consensus among the 27 EU countries on targeting gas, the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes, would be difficult to secure amid opposition from gas-dependent members like Germany, the bloc’s largest economy.

    The new package of measures proposed by the commission also includes sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, among them VTB, the second-largest Russian bank. The bloc also would ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from EU ports. Further targeted export bans, worth 10 billion euros, in sectors covering quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment also were proposed.

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    The package must be adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries.