How not to tackle data center demand

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.

WIND

• The White House has directed a wide range of federal agencies to find ways to derail offshore wind development in the U.S., even looping in the Health and Human Services Department to probe debunked allegations that turbines emit harmful electromagnetic fields. (New York Times)

• A court filing indicates the Trump administration plans to vacate and reconsider permit approvals for the New England Wind 1 and 2 projects off Massachusetts. (The Hill)

CARBON CAPTURE

• A peer-reviewed study finds the Earth can store far less captured carbon than previously thought after accounting for earthquake-prone areas and other risk factors. (Grist)

• Rising demand for gas power plants to fuel data centers could lead to a surge in carbon capture deployment as well, though the technology still hasn’t proven itself at commercial scale. (E&E News)

OIL & GAS

• A new IEEFA analysis predicts U.S. electricity prices will continue to surge as natural gas prices rise on growing international demand. (Utility Dive)

• After a wave of industry acquisitions, U.S. oil companies are now dealing with low prices and demand by laying off workers. (New York Times)

• Oil companies wrestle with whether to continue their plans to spend billions of dollars to capture carbon and otherwise reduce their emissions, or to ignore climate goals and ally fully with the Trump administration. (Wall Street Journal)

• An appeals court rules against environmental groups fighting a Biden-era offshore oil and gas lease sale. (E&E News)

COAL

• Colorado’s Comanche Generating Station is meant to shut the second of its three coal units this year, but it may be the next fossil fuel plant the Trump administration orders to stay open under its ​“energy emergency.” (Big Pivots)

• Coal mining giant Peabody Energy Corp. says it’s preparing for a surge in coal demand that analysts say is unlikely to materialize. (Bloomberg)

• Coal-fired power generation was higher in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of 2024, largely because of high natural gas prices. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright confirms a Trump administration official told him the agency would be expected to ​“rubber-stamp” reactors approved by the Energy or Defense departments, and says he pushed back. (E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Clean energy nonprofits, advocacy groups, and companies form a coalition aimed at promoting distributed energy resources as a solution to rising demand and grid stress. (Utility Dive)

EMISSIONS

• The U.S. has reportedly threatened countries with tariffs if they don’t reject a United Nations deal to cut maritime fuel emissions. (Reuters)