Greece’s coal-to-solar sprint

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.

NUCLEAR

• The U.S. Department of Energy awards $400 million to the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a small modular reactor in Tennessee, and another $400 million for Holtec to build SMRs at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. (news release)

EMISSIONS

• The Trump administration will reportedly propose rolling back fuel economy standards finalized last year under the Biden administration. (Reuters)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The federal government asks a judge to allow it to reconsider a key approval for New England Wind, a development slated to start construction off the Massachusetts coast in 2026. (New Bedford Light)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration announces plans to ​“reconsider and seek comments” on a Biden-era rule to reduce exposure limits for coal miners to airborne silica — a major contributor to a surge in black lung disease among younger miners. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, E&E News)

AFFORDABILITY

• Even as offshore wind projects along New England’s coast approach completion, state leaders in the typically progressive region are pivoting to embrace natural-gas pipeline development in an attempt to lower costs. (E&E News)

CLIMATE

• Growth of the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative stalls out with Pennsylvania’s withdrawal and fewer additional states expressing interest in joining. (Bloomberg Law News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Experts say cratering EV sales after the expiration of federal tax credits won’t last, and the market will slowly rebound. (Grist)

• South Korean diplomats visit Georgia to try to rebuild connections after the Trump administration raided Hyundai’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing complex, delaying construction and triggering outrage in Korea. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

GRID

• U.S. power customers faced an average of 11 hours of outages last year, more than double the average across the decade before. (Utility Dive)

• Independent power producers and PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urge federal regulators to reject American Electric Power’s proposal to sell off 750 MW in a capacity auction. (Utility Dive)

• Virginia regulators authorize a separate rate category for large electricity customers, which could offer a model for other states looking to deal with the booming data-center sector and its voracious power needs. (Politico)

SOLAR

• California regulators are set to vote on a staff recommendation to reject Pacific Gas & Electric’s proposal to terminate its power purchase agreement with the Ivanpah concentrated solar plant, which would force the facility to shut down. (Politico)

NEW FROM CANARY

• As solar booms and coal fades, Greece’s mining region struggles to adapt — Dan McCarthy

• Ohio fines FirstEnergy $250M in landmark decision on HB 6 scandal — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• Exxon halts plans for massive low-carbon hydrogen facility in Texas — Alexander C. Kaufman

• FirstEnergy seeks looser reliability rules as outages grow more common — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• Colorado mandates ambitious emissions cuts for its gas utilities — Alison F. Takemura