Last-minute electrification

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration proposes opening more than 1 billion acres off the Gulf and Pacific coasts for oil drilling, drawing rebukes from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Republicans. (Associated Press, E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

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

NUCLEAR

• The Trump administration announced an $80 billion deal with Westinghouse last month to build 10 new large-scale reactors, but details remain scarce. (Latitude Media)

GRID

• New England Clean Energy Connect, a controversial and long-overdue transmission line that will carry hydroelectric power from Canada into New England, receives its final permit and should be delivering energy by the end of the year. (Maine Public)

• The Solar Energy Industries Association backs two Trump administration efforts to speed the connection of large AI projects to the grid. (E&E News)

DECARBONIZATION

• U.S. companies have canceled $17 billion in industrial decarbonization projects, which include technologies like hydrogen, green steel, and sustainable aviation fuels, between 2018 and the third quarter of 2025. (Latitude Media)

CLIMATE

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent moves to approve a natural-gas pipeline and delay action on building electrification have the state’s Democrats choosing between support for the governor and continuing to pursue climate action. (E&E News)

• As COP30 ends, Brazilian officials running the climate conference prepare an agreement that ignores 82 nations’ demands to include a transition away from fossil fuels. (Bloomberg)

OVERSIGHT

• A new U.S. Department of Energy organizational chart reveals the agency has cut the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Grid Deployment Office, and several other teams. (Latitude Media)

POLITICS

• A U.S. House subcommittee advances bills that would weaken energy-efficiency programs and eliminate some home rebates, building codes, and job-training programs. (Utility Dive)

• The House Natural Resources Committee advances legislation that would bar a president from rescinding permits for energy projects. (Heatmap)

UTILITIES

• Ohio regulators issue a $250 million penalty against FirstEnergy for the utility’s role in the HB 6 power plant bailout and bribery scandal. (Ohio Capital Journal)

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