Google’s gas power plans, Maryland net-zero building rules move forward, 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.

DATA CENTERS

• Google is pursuing gas power for a massive Texas data center despite its pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2030. (The Guardian)

• Microsoft holds talks with Chevron and investment fund Engine No. 1 to negotiate construction of a $7 billion, 2.5 GW gas-fired power plant in Texas to power a data center campus. (Bloomberg)

• Microsoft is also looking to secure 1.4 GW of gas power from a West Virginia microgrid project for its data centers. (Latitude Media)

BUILDINGS

• The Trump administration sues a New Jersey township, claiming its requirement that most new rental housing be fully electric limits consumer freedom and ​“threatens American energy dominance.” (New Jersey Monitor)

• A federal judge declines to block Maryland rules requiring certain commercial and residential buildings to be net-zero by 2040, despite a Trump administration claim that federal regulations preempt the mandate. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A new Wood Mackenzie report finds gas turbine costs in the U.S. are on track to surge 195% from 2019 to 2027 as demand continues to exceed manufacturing capacity. (report)

• We Energies again delays the planned closure of a Wisconsin coal plant, this time to 2027, approximately four years after its initial retirement date. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

NUCLEAR

• The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission renews the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s license, clearing the way for California’s last remaining reactors to run through at least 2030. (Los Angeles Times)

MIDDLE EAST ENERGY SHOCK

• President Donald Trump claims the U.S. has ​“plenty” of oil and urges other countries to buy amid a global energy crisis, even though further depleting U.S. supplies could drive domestic gasoline prices even higher. (E&E News)

• While Trump spent the last year urging the world to recommit to fossil fuels, war in the Middle East is now driving many countries toward renewables instead. (E&E News)

CLIMATE

• As California and Washington state prepare to merge their emissions cap-and-trade programs, New York’s delay in creating its own such initiative could slow climate action in other states that were counting on larger states to stabilize the markets. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)