Today’s headlines: Clean power generation soars, what to expect from Trump’s China summit, and more

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• A new dashboard that tracks national and state-level progress on deploying clean energy finds that the U.S. produced nearly three times as much solar, wind, and geothermal power in 2025 compared to 2016. (Environment America, news release)

• A group of U.S. solar manufacturers asks the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate solar component shipments from Ethiopia, alleging that companies are assembling Chinese-made products there to avoid tariffs. (Reuters)

CHINA SUMMIT

• U.S. automakers and legislators fear President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week could pave the way for cheap Chinese EVs to enter the U.S. market. (Politico)

• The summit comes as China flexes its clean energy manufacturing prowess amid the Iran war and resulting global energy crisis, with 50 countries reporting record Chinese solar imports in March and Chinese EV makers starting to pitch their cars around the world. (Bloomberg)

MIDDLE EAST ENERGY SHOCK

• Republican congressional leaders appear reluctant to suspend a federal gas tax despite the president’s urging. (E&E News)

GRID

• Grid operators SPP, CAISO, and PJM Interconnection say they have enough power supplies to meet demand this summer, even if their regions face hotter-than-expected temperatures. (Utility Dive)

• As electric vehicle demand slows, Ford announces a new subsidiary to make batteries for the grid and data centers to fill what executives say is a gap in the market. (E&E News)

WIND

• After months spent interviewing residents in three offshore wind hubs in Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts, researchers find communities are excited by the projects’ economic promise but are unsure the boom will last once construction is finished. (NBC Connecticut)

AFFORDABILITY

• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signs a law aimed at lowering energy bills by curbing utility rate forecasting and limiting the use of customer dollars for utility executive salaries. (Maryland Matters)

COAL

• An analysis of federal data finds one in five U.S. coal mines last year exceeded caps on silica dust already in place for every other regulated sector, even as federal officials dragged their feet implementing a Biden-era rule to protect miners from the toxic material. (Lexington Herald-Leader, report)

PUBLIC LANDS

• The Trump administration revokes a Biden-era rule that aimed to put conservation on par with oil and gas drilling and other extractive uses on federal lands, saying it did not align with current energy policies. (Deseret News)