Banking on solar

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.

POLLUTION

• The U.S. EPA moves to stop defending a Biden administration rule that would strengthen limits on fine-particle pollution, including soot, and potentially prevent thousands of deaths. (Associated Press)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The Trump administration fails to appeal a court ruling that overruled a federally ordered work stoppage and allowed construction to resume on the Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island. (CT Mirror)

NUCLEAR

• Scientists from several European countries sign an agreement with China to collaborate on fusion research. (South China Morning Post)

BATTERIES

• Redwood Materials, the battery-recycling firm led by Tesla cofounder JB Straubel, cuts dozens of employees as it scales back some projects. (Bloomberg)

UTILITIES

• Virginia regulators approve a new rate class for large customers demanding 25 MW or more and sign off on Dominion Energy’s request to build a $1.47 billion, 944-MW gas peaker plant despite opposition from community and environmental groups. (Virginia Mercury, news release)

• New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherill (D) has vowed to freeze utility rates, but it may be a difficult promise to keep as the state’s largest utility plans to spend billions to build new power plants. (E&E News)

DATA CENTERS

• Amazon plans to invest an additional $15 billion in northern Indiana data centers, while utility NIPSCO plans to add 3 GW worth of gas generation and battery storage to serve them. (Utility Dive)

• The deal with Amazon will test NIPSCO’s strategy to create a separate entity that owns power plants for large energy users in an attempt to shield ratepayers from additional costs. (E&E News)

• U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, proposes legislation aimed at protecting consumers and the power grid from rising data center-driven electricity demand. (E&E News)

TRANSPORTATION

• California’s air quality board plans to begin developing new emissions limits for heavy-duty trucks after Congress shot down the state’s ban on gas-fueled vehicles. (Politico)

POLITICS

• The U.S. Department of Energy’s move to roll back tribes’ powers to veto hydropower projects on their land sparks broader conversations about energy development and tribal sovereignty. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe says the EV maker is banking on a software advantage and its newest vehicle, the two-row crossover R2, to renew its fortunes and boost the company’s planned Georgia factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

COMMENTARY

• A Colorado columnist says the rapid expansion of energy-intensive data centers in the Western U.S. could transform the region’s power grid, economies, and landscapes as dramatically as the post-war buildout of coal plants and transmission lines. (High Country News)