Coal plant gets costly lifeline

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.

WIND

• The U.S. Commerce Department announces a national security probe into wind turbine component imports, which could lead to further tariffs. (E&E News)

• Puget Sound Energy brings online its 248 MW Beaver Creek wind facility in Montana as part of the Washington utility’s effort to comply with state clean energy laws. (Daily Montanan)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The Treasury Department releases an FAQ outlining when tax credits for efficiency upgrades and EV purchases will end. (news release)

FOSSIL FUELS

• California advocates worry Phillips 66 may shirk its responsibilities to clean up a ​“lake of hydrocarbons” that has accumulated under a Los Angeles-area refinery slated for closure later this year. (Capital & Main)

• A hypothetical future gas pipeline into New England could possibly lower energy prices in the short term but could be a risky investment that would expose the region to volatile prices and undermine progress toward climate goals. (WBUR)

• The value of U.S. oil and gas company mergers and acquisitions reached $206 billion in 2024, a 331% increase from the year before. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Organized labor representatives say they’re concerned the Trump administration’s reported interest in privatizing the Tennessee Valley Authority could harm workers, especially if its assets are sold off to investor-owned utilities. (Blue Ridge Public Radio/​Grist)

MINING

• Researchers estimate waste from active mines around the U.S. contains significant amounts of critical minerals, including enough lithium in a year’s worth of by-products to power 10 million EVs. (Grist)

STORAGE

• Energy storage developer Key Capture Energy, which has built more than a dozen projects in New York and Texas, eyes up to seven projects in Michigan as utility demand grows. (Crain’s)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Managed charging programs could turn EVs with bidirectional batteries into grid resources capable of saving utilities billions of dollars and lowering power bills for residents, research from a managed charging provider and The Brattle Group finds. (Utility Dive)

GEOTHERMAL

• A northwestern Colorado community establishes a geothermal heated and cooled business park to spur economic development in advance of a scheduled coal plant and mine closure. (Inside Climate News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Trump admin orders dirty, expensive coal plant to stay open even longer — Jeff St. John

• Chart: Yes, US power prices are rising. Don’t blame clean energy. — Dan McCarthy & Ysabelle Kempe

• Peak Energy’s new battery is cooler than lithium-ion systems — Julian Spector

• California’s biggest virtual power plant may get a funding reprieve — Jeff St. John