Decarbonization projects lose millions in federal funding

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

FEDERAL ACTION

• The Trump administration cancels $3.7 billion in grants for industrial emissions reduction, including awards to Massachusetts low-carbon cement startup Sublime Systems, and an ethanol production facility and a Kraft plant in New York. (Canary Media, The Daily News, NNY 360)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. Department of Energy orders a fossil fuel-fired power plant near Philadelphia to stay in operation beyond its planned retirement date over the weekend, claiming the move will help control consumer costs. (E&E News)

• A boiler failure at a Delaware refinery causes a large, ongoing release of sulfur dioxide — a pollutant that can worsen asthma and trigger heart attacks — in an area where the Trump administration recently canceled a grant for a community air-monitoring program. (WHYY)

INDUSTRY

• President Trump promises Nippon Steel, upon acquiring U.S. Steel, will keep the American company’s coal-fired blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana operating at full capacity for at least a decade, which would lock in dangerous pollution levels for years to come. (Inside Climate News)

TRANSPORTATION

• A Massachusetts bill calling for strategies to reduce the number of miles vehicles travel statewide becomes a target of right-wing outrage, as commentators incorrectly imply the legislation would place limits on how far individuals are allowed to drive. (Boston Herald)

• The New Jersey Turnpike Authority orders the removal of 64 Tesla Superchargers from highway rest areas as it switches to charging stations using a universal standard. (NJ.com)

• New York state lawmakers consider a measure that would require fuel providers to lower the carbon intensity of their products and create a market-based system to encourage the transition. (E&E News)

EFFICIENCY

• New York sets aside 30% of its ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and building electrification budget for programs serving low- and moderate-income households, a decision advocates say shortchanges a vulnerable population. (City Limits)

• Massachusetts’ state auditor says she is examining how well state-mandated energy efficiency programs function amid concerns that its $4.5 billion, three-year budget is driving increases in consumer utility bills. (WCVB)

• Baltimore is among the cities where lobbyists for the asphalt roofing industry have fought ordinances requiring white roofs, which can lower summer cooling costs, arguing that the rules take away consumer choice and can increase costs in the winter. (Guardian)

SOLAR

• Maine state legislators advance a bill that would eliminate net metering for community solar projects and other non-residential solar developments, but require the creation of a new replacement program. (Maine Morning Star)

AFFORDABILITY

• As Connecticut legislators attempt to hammer out the details of a complex bill intended to rein in consumer energy costs, disagreements over the powers given to the chair of the state’s utility regulatory body threaten to undo weeks of progress. (CT Mirror)

• As electricity prices are set to jump this summer, Maryland regulators order utility BGE to shift some of its power supply billing from high-use months to lower-demand periods to soften price spikes for consumers. (WJZ)

NEW FROM CANARY

• As the U.S. House’s clean energy incentive-slashing budget bill heads to the Senate, all eyes are on North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who is among Republicans who argued against a wholesale repeal of IRA tax credits, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

• Months after the catastrophic fire at Vistra’s grid battery in Moss Landing, California, a neighboring battery project is back online, Julian Spector reports.

• The Texas Senate lets three House-passed bills die that would’ve curtailed the state’s booming wind and solar power development Kathryn Krawczyk reports.