Coal plant ordered to stay open

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

• President Trump signs four executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear energy deployment, including by speeding reactor testing, allowing reactor construction on federal land, and boosting uranium mining and enrichment. (CNN)

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems files for a conditional-use permit to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion plant in Virginia. (Richmond BizSense)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management reviews and approves the proposed Velvet-Wood uranium mine in southeastern Utah in 11 days under the Trump administration’s fast-tracked permitting policy, sparking concern over environmental impacts. (Salt Lake Tribune, news release)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. EPA has reportedly drafted a plan to eliminate all greenhouse gas emission limits on coal and gas power plants, stating in its proposed rule that the facilities ​“do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution” or climate change. (New York Times)

• U.S. oil and gas companies are wary of the expanded cost and timeline of the Mountain Valley Pipeline — along with additional costs from tariffs, labor shortages, low oil prices, and the risk of legal snags — as they increasingly choose to purchase existing projects rather than build new ones. (Reuters)

BATTERIES

• Executives overseeing battery component production at a western Michigan LG Energy Solution plant say the combination of tariffs and restricting subsidies would devastate the domestic market that’s attempting to compete with China. (New York Times)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Just four of Vineyard Wind’s intended 62 turbines are up and running, the project is well past its target date of being fully operational in mid-2024, and developers are not releasing any new information about installation progress. (MV Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Massachusetts joins the growing list of states delaying the implementation of rules requiring increasing percentages of car sales to be electric, but will still require automakers to file quarterly reports about their EV sales and marketing efforts. (Boston Globe)

• Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff says Senate Republicans voted to block California’s electric-vehicle rules out of spite for the state’s environmental leadership. (New York Times)

GRID

• New England states are making strides toward building more transmission capacity, but the uncertainty surrounding their renewable energy efforts — especially offshore wind — means the future of the region’s grid is still unclear. (CT Mirror)

RENEWABLES

• Texas becomes the front line in a national divide among Republicans who want to block development of renewables and those who favor a free-market approach and support clean energy’s job creation. (The Hill)

NEW FROM CANARY

• After discovering gender disparities in EV adoption, Virginia nonprofit Generation180’s ​“I’ll Drive What She’s Driving” campaign works across the country to show women that EVs are a good choice, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

• The U.S. Energy Department orders a Michigan coal plant to stay open past its May 31 retirement date and into at least late August, citing an ​“energy emergency,” Jeff St. John reports.

• States and environmental groups sue the Trump administration, alleging it unlawfully froze funding for a nationwide EV charger buildout, Lisa Sorg reports for Inside Climate News.

• House Republicans tore apart clean energy incentives in their budget bill, only providing exceptions for nuclear power, Kathryn Krawczyk reports.