Elon Musk’s solar ambitions, Exxon eyes reentering Venezuela, 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.

SOLAR

• Permit filings show Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to build a 10-GW solar cell factory in Texas, part of its ambitions to build solar panels that will power data centers in space. (Bloomberg, Austin American-Statesman)

• Another report suggests Musk’s Tesla will build a massive solar panel factory near its battery factory in Houston, although the company’s solar manufacturing arm has a history of failed promises and underwhelming results. (Electrek)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Exxon Mobil is reportedly seeking rights to drill for oil in Venezuela after exiting the country two decades ago. (New York Times)

• Military leaders and federal lawmakers say a Trump administration plan to allow oil drilling off Southern California and in the Gulf of Mexico would disrupt vital military training zones. (Washington Post)

• The Trump administration again delays the closure of the gas- and oil-fired Eddystone power plant in Pennsylvania. (Reuters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles have risen 20% over the past year, and nearly 50% since February, as drivers look to escape gasoline prices but seek a simpler payback calculus than buying a fully electric car. (Grist)

NUCLEAR

• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission prepares to close the comment period on a proposal that would make permitting for fusion projects simpler than that of fission developments. (Axios)

UTILITIES

• All of New York state’s community choice aggregation programs — which negotiate power prices for entire towns, ideally at lower cost than the utilities — have ceased operation since the state ordered an evaluation of the rules governing such offerings. (Ithaca Voice)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Two Massachusetts port cities that were counting on the expected offshore wind boom for an economic boost are now struggling to change course as the industry falters. (CommonWealth Beacon)

HYDROPOWER

• The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to use $52 million in federal funds to replace three aging hydropower turbines at Hoover Dam in Nevada as reservoir levels drop to record lows. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)