A coal town goes geothermal

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

NUCLEAR

• China is pulling ahead in its race with the U.S. to prove and commercialize fusion energy technology, largely because it’s devoting far more resources to the effort. (New York Times)

• A bipartisan group of U.S. Congress members introduces a bill to codify a new fusion office at the Energy Department. (Axios)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. government is demanding that the EU exempt its oil and gas from a new law governing fuel imports’ methane emissions. (Reuters)

• President Donald Trump signs legislation revoking resource management plans and Biden-era coal leasing bans in the Powder River Basin, drawing praise from Republican Montana and Wyoming lawmakers. (Cowboy State Daily)

• Dominion Energy and South Carolina state utility Santee Cooper see the projected cost of a planned gas-fired power plant double to about $5 billion, largely because of the skyrocketing expense of combustion turbines. (Post and Courier)

GRID

• Data center construction is estimated to drive huge power demand increases in the coming years, and while it remains uncertain just how much of that demand will come to fruition, it’s already driving renewed commitments to fossil-fueled power. (Washington Post)

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week takes up the question of how power plants colocated with data centers in the PJM Interconnection should connect to the grid. (E&E News)

• A new white paper finds utility-scale battery storage systems face elevated risks of foreign and criminal attacks. (Cybersecurity Dive)

• The staff at grid operator PJM plans to recommend an $11.6 billion package of transmission projects aimed at meeting expected load growth in coming years. (RTO Insider)

UTILITIES

• Duke University ranks Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky among the top Southeast states for utility ​“competitiveness,” largely because they participate in a regional transmission organization or an independent system operator. (Utility Dive)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Maryland requests proposals for offshore wind power purchase agreements from currently licensed developers. (Maritime Executive)

SOLAR

• Wyoming ranchers say state lawmakers and weak net-metering policies have stymied their efforts to use ranch-scale solar projects to slash their electricity bills. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE

• An energy plan proposed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and set to be finalized this week would not achieve legally mandated emissions-reduction targets. (E&E News)

GEOTHERMAL

• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans this week to auction 18 parcels for geothermal leases on about 70,000 acres in southern Idaho. (news release)