States look to revive Trump-canceled grants

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CLEAN ENERGY

• Colorado, California, Washington, and other states file a lawsuit seeking to claw back $600 million in federal clean energy grants canceled by the Trump administration. (Colorado Sun)

• California regulators propose slashing the amount of in-state wind power grid operators should plan for through 2036, citing expiring federal tax incentives and Trump administration hostility toward clean energy. (Politico)

• An Arizona legislative committee kills legislation that would have opened the door to residential plug-in solar systems, citing utility opposition. (AZ Mirror)

• An Oregon irrigation district plans to use $1 million in federal funding to build a floating solar installation. (Central Oregon Daily)

• Yakima County, Washington’s commissioners consider exempting some agrivoltaic projects from a utility-scale solar power ban. (OPB)

• Lydian Energy secures $689 million in financing for solar projects in New Mexico and Texas and a 150 MW battery energy storage system in Utah. (Energy Storage News)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Denver startup Zero Homes raises $16.8 million to fund its digital platform aimed at slashing residential heat pump installation costs. (Canary Media)

• Data show Colorado residents and businesses installed more than 14,000 heat pumps last year, two times more than in 2024. (Colorado Sun)

UTILITIES

• Colorado regulators approve Xcel Energy’s proposal to acquire 4,100 MW of new generation from wind, solar, battery energy storage, and natural gas projects. (Big Pivots)

• Los Angeles County prosecutors consider bringing criminal charges against Southern California Edison for allegedly sparking last January’s deadly Los Angeles-area Eaton fire. (Los Angeles Times)

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom appoints John Reynolds to replace Alice Reynolds as the head of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. (E&E News)

GRID

• Northern California startup Heron Power secures $140 million in financing to help it scale up production of its modernized transformer technology. (Canary Media)

DATA CENTERS

• A Los Angeles startup says it has developed a rocket engine technology-based data center cooling system that uses less power and no water. (Los Angeles Times)

• Creekstone Energy considers a 280 MW solar-plus-storage facility to power its proposed Gigasite data center project in Delta, Utah. (Power)

FOSSIL FUELS

• U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum takes jurisdiction over an administrative appeals case that reversed the federal Bureau of Land Management’s approval of a proposed 3,500 well oil and gas development in Wyoming. (WyoFile)

• Democratic Colorado lawmakers introduce legislation that would allow utilities to issue bonds to fund compliance with Trump administration orders to keep coal plants running beyond their scheduled closures. (Vail Daily)

• Wyoming lawmakers introduce legislation that would create an ​“energy dominance fund” that would subsidize large fossil fuel, uranium, and rare earth mineral extraction projects — but not solar or wind installations. (E&E News)

• Wyoming lawmakers introduce a bill that would subsidize and streamline permitting for firms using local natural gas to manufacture hydrogen, ammonia, or carbon black for export. (Wyoming Public Radio)

TRANSPORTATION

• California automaker Aptera Motors expects to begin production of its three-wheeled, super-efficient EV later this year. (KPBS)

BIOFUELS

• The U.S. Energy Department awards Nevada researchers $9 million to expand the use of cactus pears as a climate-resilient biofuel feedstock. (Biofuels Digest)