A regulator’s warning

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.

EMISSIONS

• Exxon Mobil files a federal lawsuit challenging California laws requiring the corporation to disclose greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the global use of its products, saying the rules violate the company’s free speech rights. (Los Angeles Times)

• The Trump administration reverses Biden-era emissions limits on copper smelters. (Reuters)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Offshore wind companies are hiring lobbyists with connections to President Trump in an attempt to fend off the president’s attacks on the industry. (E&E News)

GEOTHERMAL

• Geothermal energy is winning support from congressional Republicans, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and even President Trump despite their opposition to other sources of renewable energy. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Hyundai affirms its commitment to build a $6 billion steel mill in Louisiana, as it celebrates the first anniversary of its massive Georgia plant that was the site of an immigration raid earlier this fall. (WWNO, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• Ford and General Motors say they’ll recoup profits by shifting away from EV production in the coming years. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright allows one unit of an oil-burning power plant in Maryland to run beyond its operating limits through the end of the year, saying the move is necessary to ensure grid reliability. (Reuters)

GRID

• Northern Virginia became the global leader for data center development due to a key tax exemption, the presence of internet infrastructure, cheap power, and available land. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR

• Two new reports from Tesla and Permit Power provide roadmaps for lowering the price of rooftop solar and battery storage installations. (Latitude Media)

• Maxeon plans to move forward with establishing a solar panel assembly and photovoltaic cell manufacturing facility in Albuquerque in spite of unfavorable federal clean energy policies. (Albuquerque Journal)

OVERSIGHT

• President Trump taps newly confirmed Republican FERC Chair Laura Swett to lead the commission. (Utility Dive)