Tariffs to upend energy prices, EV manufacturing

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.

TARIFFS: President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, which take effect tomorrow, are expected to have broad economic impacts on everything from food to fuel and cause even more chaos for clean energy. (E&E News)

ALSO:

• The order calls for a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, which is expected to increase gas prices and wholesale electricity prices, especially in northern states that rely on Canadian hydropower. (Financial Post, Reuters, Heatmap)

• The tariffs are also expected to disrupt auto manufacturing, including electric vehicles, and make it harder to source components used in other clean energy technologies. (Axios, Bloomberg)

POLITICS: A second judge pauses the Trump administration’s halt on federal spending, which has already thrown disaster relief, clean energy construction and climate nonprofits into disarray. (New York Times, Heatmap)

OVERSIGHT:

• A 2019 Trump appointee who uncovered mismanagement in the oil industry is among a slate of inspectors general dismissed by the president last week. (Grist)

• Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Jeff Lyash announces he’ll retire by September, the end of the federal utility’s fiscal year. (Knoxville News Sentinel, Associated Press)

STORAGE: The fire at the massive Moss Landing battery system in California renews arguments about the necessity of utility-scale energy storage, and how to balance it against fire dangers. (E&E News)

SOLAR: GE Vernova announces plans to manufacture utility-scale solar inverters in Pittsburgh, a move the company says could ease some supply chain challenges. (PV Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• California officials look to use incentives and subsidies to prod fleet operators to transition to electric big rigs after the U.S. EPA failed to approve the state’s EV truck mandate. (Los Angeles Times)

• Georgia leaders and clean energy advocates worry President Trump’s attacks on electric vehicles and clean energy will affect projected 43,000 related jobs and more than $24 billion in investment in the state. (Georgia Recorder)

EFFICIENCY: Geothermal heat pumps can provide heat even more efficiently than their air-source cousins and save customers more on power bills, but their higher cost makes them a harder sell. (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS: A peer-reviewed study finds Californians who lived near high-producing oil and gas wells were more likely to contract and die from COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic. (Inside Climate News)

CLEAN ENERGY: Minnesota’s green bank will ramp up lending this year for climate and emission-reduction projects, providing a new funding source amid chaos and confusion around federal spending. (Energy News Network)