OCED projects terminated

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.

INDUSTRY

• The U.S. Energy Department announces the termination of 24 awards totaling $3.7 billion from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations; the DOE says most of the cuts involve carbon capture and decarbonization-related projects. (news release)

• Businesses have closed, canceled, or downsized $14 billion in low-carbon manufacturing and power generation projects so far this year, costing as many as 10,000 planned jobs, a new study from environmental nonprofit E2 finds. (Axios)

• Manufacturers are slowly announcing projects to beef up manufacturing of transformers and other electrical equipment needed to shore up and expand the grid. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR

• A U.S. Agriculture Department report says solar development on productive farmland poses a ​“significant barrier” to agricultural development, and the department says it will reshape REAP loans to disincentivize solar development on farmland. (Heatmap)

• Following Elon Musk’s departure from the White House, Tesla and Musk condemn Congress’ proposed end to clean energy tax credits. (Politico)

• Solar advocates worry cuts in Trump’s ​“big beautiful bill” could result in the closure or cancellation of 331 factories across the U.S.. (WTVT, San Antonio Express-News)

• Some of the more than 140 Minnesota schools that installed solar arrays as part of a state program in 2022 are already seeing savings thanks to local and federal incentives. (MinnPost)

NUCLEAR

• Federal regulators approve NuScale Power’s 77 MW small modular reactor design, making it the second federally approved SMR. (E&E News)

PERMITTING

• Legal experts warn President Trump’s moves to speed energy project permitting could actually delay development as opponents sue over errors in expedited reviews and understaffed regulatory agencies struggle to keep up with sped-up timelines. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ford Motor Co.’s $2 billion electric vehicle battery factory planned in Michigan would be in jeopardy under proposed federal cuts to clean energy manufacturing tax credits, the company’s chair says. (Bridge)

COAL

• The Trump administration reverses plans to terminate leases for 34 Mine Safety and Health Administration offices that were targeted for closure by the Department of Government Efficiency, including seven in Kentucky alone. (Associated Press)

• Still, the Trump administration’s pause on enforcement of a rule to protect coal miners from an aggressive form of black lung disease remains in place. (KFF Health News)

OFFSHORE WIND

• A test-scale floating offshore wind turbine is in position in waters off Maine, but the Trump administration’s anti-wind policies still pose a significant threat to the fledgling industry. (IEEE Spectrum)

• Louisiana’s Port Fourchon — which leases waterfront land to companies that supply offshore oil rigs — wants to build a $200 million deepwater port south of its existing site to serve as a hub for the emerging offshore wind industry. (Times-Picayune)

OIL & GAS

• The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a lower court’s decision to rescind federal approval for a proposed Utah oil railway and narrows the scope of required environmental reviews, potentially accelerating major infrastructure projects. (Utah News Dispatch, Associated Press)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Residents of an affordable housing complex in Sacramento, California, are seeing both financial and climate benefits after the neighborhood made energy efficient upgrades and replaced gas appliances with electric. Alison F. Takemura reports.

• New steelmaking and ironmaking capacity coming to the U.S. is all expected to use cleaner technologies that will reduce the industry’s emissions impact, but many steelmakers still rely on coal-fired blast furnaces. Dan McCarthy reports.