Empire Wind’s economic ripples

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.

MINING

• President Trump signs an executive order aimed at developing an ocean floor extraction industry, as scientists warn rushing into deep-sea mining could produce huge environmental impacts. (Axios)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ford announces battery cell technology advancements that will allow lower-cost EVs to travel farther on a single charge. (Detroit Free Press)

• General Motors will shift production at a Toledo, Ohio, plant from EV components to making transmissions for internal-combustion vehicles instead. (Reuters)

• Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast reaffirms its commitment to open aNorth Carolina factory by 2028 despite tariffs and economic turbulence. (WTVD)

• Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto introduces a bare-bones truck that only goes 150 miles on a charge but is set to cost less than $20,000 after incentives. (The Verge)

RENEWABLES

• The CEO of renewable developer NextEra Energy says the company will be relatively insulated from the impact of U.S. tariffs. (Latitude Media)

OFFSHORE WIND

• German energy company RWE ceases U.S. offshore wind activity, including a New Jersey project, citing the ​“uncertainty” created by the Trump administration’s hostility toward offshore wind. (Reuters)

SOLAR

• A Utah law aims to boost portable solar panels, which don’t need to go through lengthy grid interconnection processes to start generating power. (Grist)

UTILITIES

• Public utilities need to take more steps to protect ratepayers from the cost of connecting large new customers like data centers, experts from the American Public Power Association say. (Utility Dive)

TRANSPORTATION

• In the ongoing legal battle over Manhattan’s congestion pricing, federal prosecutors unintentionally file an internal memo with the court saying that its current legal strategy will likely be unsuccessful. (Associated Press)

COAL

• Advocates push back on the Trump administration’s plans to end a Biden-era ban on new federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin, citing the environmental impacts of mining and burning the fossil fuel. (Inside Climate News)