Clean power’s record month

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.

OVERSIGHT

• The U.S. EPA reportedly plans to virtually eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program by ending emissions reporting requirements for power plants, refineries, and dozens of other industrial facilities. (ProPublica)

POLITICS

• Oil and gas lobbyist Kathleen Sgamma withdraws her nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management after her previous comments critical of the January 6 attack surfaced. (E&E News)

• President Trump directs federal agencies to sunset many of their environmental protections by October 2026, including regulations governing energy appliance standards, mining, and offshore drilling. (The Hill)

• U.S. Energy Department officials are reportedly trying to incentivize employees to stay despite the Trump administration’s attempt to gut the department, fearing that a depleted workforce won’t be able to carry out the administration’s goals. (Heatmap)

• More than 2,600 Energy Department staffers have reportedly already opted to take a second-round buyout from the Trump administration. (Reuters)

• Four Republican senators caution against a full repeal of clean energy tax credits as Congress begins work on a budget reconciliation package. (Reuters, E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Almost 300,000 new EVs were sold in the U.S. in the first three months of the year, a nearly 11% increase as fast-growing sales from General Motors and others offset the continued decline of market leader Tesla. (Cox Automotive)

• EV startup Lucid Motors wins bankruptcy auction for the assets of Nikola, including the failed EV trucking firm’s Arizona factory. (TechCrunch)

WIND

• New London, Connecticut, is among the New England cities that have seen an economic boom amid the area’s offshore wind buildout, but its mayor fears that won’t last under President Trump’s attacks. (NPR)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A coal analyst anticipates Trump’s executive orders will inspire a developer or utility to announce a new coal power facility, but doubts any new projects will actually get built. (E&E News)

• The Trump administration cancels a Biden-era environmental review of 3,244 federal oil and gas leases across seven states that had been targeted by environmental advocates’ litigation. (E&E News)

EFFICIENCY

• The U.S. Senate votes to repeal efficiency standards for gas water heaters. (Washington Post)

GRID

• Virginia has become the nation’s epicenter for data center growth, with a study finding unconstrained demand will drive up energy use 183% by 2040 versus 15% without new data centers and an electric co-op exec warning the power-hungry facilities could cause rolling blackouts. (States Newsroom, Cardinal News)

STORAGE

• Vistra withdraws its proposed 600 MW battery energy storage system in central California following successive blazes at its Moss Landing facility this year. (KSBW)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Climate advocates celebrate Maryland’s newly passed energy bills for their steps to curb gas instructure investments and boost community solar and batteries, but are wary of one measure to expedite new gas and nuclear power plants, Akielly Hu reports.

• Ohio legislators consider bills that would block local governments from having a say in permitting for carbon capture projects, and could even force some landowners to let their property be used for carbon storage, Kathiann Kowalski reports.

• Fossil fuels accounted for less than half of the U.S. electricity mix across a whole month for the first time in March, Dan McCarthy reports.