Another delayed fossil fuel retirement

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

• Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission say the Trump administration’s attempts to exercise control over the independent agency have led senior leadership to depart, ​“creating a huge brain drain” that raises the risk of accidents. (Financial Times)

• The U.S. grants Clean Core Thorium Energy a license to export nuclear technology to India, which could pave the way for the development of thorium as an alternative uranium reactor fuel. (MIT Technology Review)

POLITICS

• The U.S. Energy Department is quickly fulfilling Project 2025’s vision for the department, including by rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act and restricting FERC’s consideration of emissions in pipeline permitting decisions. (Latitude Media)

WIND

• Internal emails reveal how Trump administration officials moved quickly to assemble findings to back their stop-work order for the 54-turbine Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, which was later reversed. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The United Auto workers are claiming victory with a 526-515 vote lead in a union election at Ford and SK On’s BlueOval EV battery factory in Kentucky, but federal officials have yet to settle the question of 41 ​“challenged ballots” that could shift the outcome. (Louisville Courier Journal, New York Times)

• Nearly one in four Cadillacs sold in the U.S. is electric, and its overall EV sales have surpassed other luxury brands, providing a roadmap for automakers looking to convert their customers to EVs. (New York Times)

GRID

• U.S. grid interconnection agreements totaled a record 75 GW in 2024, with solar and storage making up 75% of all agreements. (Wood Mackenzie)

• A law professor says strategies to manage scarce water and gas resources in the western U.S. could be used to manage data centers without the risk of overbuilding the grid to meet forecasted demand. (Inside Climate News)

GEOTHERMAL

• Legacy geothermal firm Ormat Technologies announces plans to license next-generation geothermal tech from Sage Geosystems, and Sage will build its first commercial plant at an existing Ormat power station. (Latitude Media)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Xcel Energy asks Colorado regulators to fast-track permitting for several proposed wind, solar, and battery storage projects totaling about 4 GW capacity to allow them to take advantage of expiring federal clean energy tax credits. (CPR, Colorado Sun)

• Plug-in solar startup bright Saver secures $500,000 in funding as low-wattage solar, already popular in Europe, gains interest in the U.S.. (Heatmap)