States keep buying clean

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.

OVERSIGHT

Trump issues an executive order asserting control over independent government agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, threatening oversight of power and natural gas markets. (E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Biden-era funding for renewable energy factories was set to reinvigorate domestic manufacturing, but that’s in jeopardy as the Trump administration rolls back federal clean energy support. (New York Times)

• A new Business Council for Sustainable Energy study shows how solar, wind and storage dominated new electricity generation additions in the U.S. last year, and the necessity of federal support to keep clean energy growing. (BCSE)

FEDERAL FUNDING
Some recipients of federal green bank funding say they were blocked from accessing their Citibank accounts Wednesday, after the Trump administration moved to claw back the $20 billion program. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Conservation groups sue the Trump administration over plans to shrink areas protected from offshore drilling. (The Hill)

• U.S. oil and biofuel companies join together to ask the Trump administration to increase the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the country’s fuel mix. (Reuters)

TRANSPORTATION

The Trump administration announces plans to halt New York City’s congestion pricing program; the Metropolitan Transporation Authority immediately files a lawsuit challenging the legality of the move. (New York Times)

GRID

A Texas company helps customers access low-cost battery storage systems by charging them an annual membership fee and becoming the customer’s electricity plan provider. (Houston Chronicle)

COMMENTARY

Brownfields, rooftops, and other underutilized spaces present promising opportunities to site solar projects in Michigan that also can avoid bitter land use disputes, a clean energy advocate writes. (Bridge)