Hyundai CEO: Trump administration apologized for factory raid

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Hyundai Motor Co. Chief Executive José Muñoz says a Trump administration official called him to apologize for the September immigration raid on the automaker’s electric vehicle and battery plant in Georgia that led to the detention of 317 South Korean workers. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

FOSSIL FUELS

• President Trump flummoxes Florida Republicans with a plan to open oil and gas drilling along the state’s Gulf Coast despite their opposition. (E&E News, Politico)

• Trump proposes a five-year plan to open nearly 1.3 billion acres to oil and gas exploration and hold seven lease sales off Louisiana’s Gulf coast. (Times-Picayune)

• Virginia pipeline opponents worry about MVP’s Southgate Extension and Williams Companies’ Southeast Supply Enhancement Project, which are proposed for roughly the same route from Virginia to North Carolina. (Inside Climate News)

• Jacksonville, Florida’s planning commission unanimously approves a rezoning for the municipal utility’s plan to build a 675 MW gas-fired power plant. (Jacksonville Daily Record)

• A federal report finds Kentucky’s coal production fell 14% in 2024, as the state fell to seventh in the nation in coal production after spending much of the ​‘70s and ​‘80s ranked first. (WEKU)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A new report finds North Carolina’s clean energy sector added 3,254 jobs and grew six times faster than the rest of the state’s economy in 2024. (news release)

SOLAR

• Texas utility CPS Energy issues a request for proposals for 600 MW of new solar capacity. (PV Tech)

GRID

• Grid operator PJM Interconnection rejects all 12 proposals from data center companies, utilities, advocates, and others recommending how it should handle demand growth. (WTTG, Utility Dive)

• Kentucky regulators and the state’s attorney general say they will appeal the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s dismissal of their complaint alleging that Kentucky Power customers unfairly subsidize the costs of transmission projects in other states. (Kentucky Lantern)

• The North American Electric Reliability Corp. warns the rapid spread of data centers in the Carolinas, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s territory, Texas, and other regions could create ​“elevated” risks of power shortages this winter. (E&E News)

DATA CENTERS

• The Georgia Department of Community Affairs unanimously votes to set new rules codifying how regional planners should evaluate data center proposals, and to make it easier for residents to learn more information about them. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• An Alabama city council votes to rezone nearly 700 acres for a 4.5 million square foot data center despite criticism that a non-disclosure agreement is preventing transparency. (Inside Climate News)

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces CleanArc Data Centers is breaking ground on a $3 billion, 900 MW data center campus in the state. (Virginia Business)

CLIMATE

• Louisiana residents find themselves stuck as insurance premiums for coastal properties spike even as home values plummet. (New York Times)

• A new report pulls from years of scientific studies and data in an attempt to comprehensively assess Virginia’s climate from the mountains to the coast. (WHRO)

COMMENTARY

• Texas illustrates a valid path to affordable and reliable energy when it comes to both renewables and fossil fuels, writes the co-founder and CEO of energy forecasting company Amperon. (Utility Dive)

• Virginia should invite data center developers to contribute a percentage of their avoided sales-tax liability to purchase credits under the state’s distributed generation carve-out for small-scale solar projects, writes the CEO of developer Secure Solar Futures. (Virginia Mercury)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Electrify your home with our handy roundup before tax credits expire — Alison F. Takemura

• Chart: EVs are ascendant — and gas cars are past their prime — Dan McCarthy

• Brookfield inks hydro contract with Microsoft in latest Big Tech deal — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Sortera raises $45M for recycling tech as US demands low-carbon aluminum — Maria Gallucci

• Trump cites​‘emergency’ to keep Michigan coal plant online into winter — Jeff St. John