By Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici, Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Monday he will declare a national energy emergency aimed at boosting U.S. oil and gas production, and lowering costs for U.S. consumers.
The emergency declaration is just one of many actions Trump was expected to take on Monday and in the coming days to bolster the U.S. oil, gas and power industries and put a brake on former President Joe Biden's efforts to accelerate the electric vehicle industry.
"America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it," Trump said in his inauguration address in the U.S. Capitol. "We will drill, baby, drill."
Biden came into the White House vowing to wean the U.S. off fossil fuels, but U.S. oil and gas production hit record levels under his watch as drillers chased high prices in the wake of sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has said the U.S. is in an artificial-intelligence arms race with China and others, making the industry’s voracious power needs a national priority.
U.S. data center power demand could nearly triple in the next three years, and consume as much as 12% of the country's electricity on demand from AI and other technologies, the Department of Energy projects.
The first Trump administration had considered using emergency powers under the Federal Power Act to attempt to carry out a pledge to rescue the coal industry, but never followed through.
This time, he could use emergency powers to ease environmental restrictions on power plants, speed up construction of new plants, ease permitting for transmission projects, and open up federal land for new data centers.
Trump also said the U.S. will revoke what he has called an electric vehicle mandate, saying it would save the U.S. auto industry.
His White House said in a document that Trump's policies will "end leasing to massive wind farms," and close the door on "policies of climate extremism." It said he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, a move Trump took in his first term.
"The common theme is really unleashing affordable and reliable American energy," a Trump official said earlier on Monday. "Because energy permeates every single part of our economy, it's also key to restoring our national security and exerting American energy dominance around the world."
Mike Sommers, the head of the American Petroleum Institute lobbying group, told reporters last week he would welcome Trump's executive orders on energy but hopes that Congress, where Trump's fellow Republicans have majorities, will pass laws to open up drilling.
Sam Sankar, senior vice president for programs at Earthjustice, a non-profit group which is gearing up to fight Trump policies in the courts, said the declaration of an energy emergency in a non-war period is rare and untested, creating a potential legal vulnerability.
'RIGHT TO THE TOP'
Trump also said the U.S. will "fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top" and export energy all over the world. After the invasion of Ukraine, Biden sold more than 180 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a record amount. The sales helped keep gasoline prices in check, but sank the SPR to the lowest level in 40 years.
Trump had pledged in his first administration to fill the SPR in an effort to help domestic oil companies who were suffering from low demand during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pledge was not fulfilled.
Trump is also expected to sign another order aimed at utilizing natural resources in Alaska, repealing several of Biden's electric vehicle initiatives and protecting gas-powered appliances from federal and local regulators who want to phase them out of homes and businesses, the incoming official said.
Alaska has been a contentious area of the country when it comes to energy and the environment, with Republicans having long seen opportunities for oil and gas production there while Democrats have sought to preserve pristine land.
The official said Trump would take "decisive action to unleash Alaska's natural resource potential," citing an abundance of resources such as oil and gas, seafood, timber and critical minerals.
Many of the actions were expected and would fulfill promises Trump had made during his 2024 presidential campaign.