Conservatives’ sudden love for solar, oil campaigns for wind, and more headlines

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.

OFFSHORE WIND

• Oil lobbyists are asking Trump to back off his attacks on offshore wind, saying his hostility could delay energy permitting reforms that would benefit fossil fuel companies. (Wall Street Journal)

SOLAR

• The American Clean Power Association is reportedly working with conservative influencers to emphasize and build Republican support for solar power. (Politico)

• The Interior Department is reviewing at least 20 commercial-scale projects that have been stuck in permitting since Trump took office, including the massive Esmeralda project in Nevada. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• The Trump administration and Westinghouse are reportedly meeting with utilities and nuclear developers as Trump aims to get at least 10 large reactors into construction by 2030. (Heatmap)

• California regulators approve waste discharge permits for Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, clearing the way for the facility to continue operating through 2030 or longer; it was previously slated to retire this year. (Los Angeles Times)

TRANSMISSION

• Increasing transmission capacity between regional grids could create substantial savings for consumers, but it could reduce revenues for more expensive power plants in the Northeast and Southeast, according to a new analysis. (Utility Dive)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Just 27 of the nation’s 219 coal plants would’ve had to make upgrades to meet stronger air pollution standards that the Trump administration rolled back last week. (The Guardian)

• The One Big Beautiful Bill subsidizes fossil fuels by an average of $3.5 billion each year, an analysis from Senate Democrats finds. (The Hill)

DATA CENTERS

• A Virginia court hears arguments over what would be the largest data center complex in the U.S. — with 14 electric substations and hundreds of diesel generators — at a location that sits up against a famous Civil War battleground. (E&E News)

EMISSIONS

• The EPA’s plans to continue regulating methane emissions at oil and gas facilities could complicate its defense of its endangerment finding rollback. (E&E News)

• Virginia moves forward in its push to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative less than three years after the former Republican governor withdrew the state from the pact. (VPM)

BATTERIES

• Ford Motor Co.’s massive EV battery plant in Michigan is on track to start production this summer after favorable court rulings quashed citizen-led efforts to block the project. (MLive)

PIPELINES

• A North Dakota judge says he will order Greenpeace to pay $345 million in damages for its connection to Dakota Access pipeline protests nearly a decade ago. (Associated Press)