Rising utility bills are stressing us out

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.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Tesla reports a 71% year-over-year profit drop in the first quarter of the year, as Elon Musk says he’ll trim his White House involvement starting next month. (Washington Post, CNBC)

• Tesla says President Trump’s tariffs will hurt its energy storage business more than its EVs, largely because it relies on battery cells imported from China, though it set another Powerwall installation record last quarter. (Bloomberg, Heatmap)

• U.S. tariffs likely won’t hurt China’s EV industry as it continues to expand exports to Russia, the Middle East, and other parts of the world, a consulting firm finds. (Axios)

POLITICS

• FERC Commissioner Willie Phillips, a Democrat, steps down at the White House’s request, leaving a 2-2 partisan split on the board; Phillips says he was already planning to leave the agency. (Politico)

• The Trump administration isn’t working on or considering an executive order targeting climate-related groups’ nonprofit status, an official says. (E&E News)

• The U.S. EPA tells 280 employees at its environmental justice office that they’ll be laid off at the end of July, and says another 175 employees will be reassigned. (Inside Climate News)

• A Chinese company’s U.S. subsidiary that’s planning a $2.36 billion battery plant in Michigan donated $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee, after the company faced a barrage of attacks from Trump and many other Republicans. (Detroit News)

HYDROGEN

• Researchers find fuel-cell cars and space heating are ​“among the least promising applications” for hydrogen, and say the fuel instead ​“holds potential in industry, long-duration energy storage, and long-haul transport.” (Nature)

CARBON CAPTURE

• Indian company Mati Carbon wins the $50 million XPRIZE for carbon removal, sponsored by Elon Musk’s foundation. (Associated Press)

SOLAR

• The Bureau of Land Management resumes permitting reviews for solar, storage, and geothermal projects on federal land. (Reuters)

• Korean solar panel manufacturers including Hanwha Qcells anticipate Trump’s tariffs on southeastern Asian countries will give them a competitive advantage against Chinese-made equipment as they invest in U.S. factories. (Korea Herald)Exowatt, a startup that aims to power data centers and other commercial customers with a combination of solar and thermal energy storage, closes a $70 million funding round. (News release)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The Trump administration’s claim that approvals for the halted Empire Wind project were rushed is ​“preposterous,” insiders say, as the process of approving a wind farm in that area began in 2011. (Fast Company)

WORKFORCE

• Energy sector employers say they’re struggling to find skilled labor, particularly electrical and power engineers, jeopardizing the expansion of power infrastructure needed to meet growing demand. (Latitude Media)

EMISSIONS

• As the Trump administration moves to slash environmental regulations, a new study finds 46% of Americans breathe air with unhealthy levels of pollution. (New York Times)

• NOAA quietly released data last week that showed atmospheric carbon levels jumped by a record amount in 2024. (CNN)