Tax credit loophole

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. Interior Department removes the Atlantic coast and a portion of the Gulf Coast around Florida from Trump’s plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling after opposition from local Republicans. (Politico)

• The Trump administration announces a $100 million program for operators to refurbish aging coal plants and retrofit facilities to run on natural gas. (E&E News)

• Advocates sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for issuing a certificate to a planned natural gas pipeline into New York, arguing the body had no authority to ​“resurrect this dead and abandoned project.” (E&E News)

• Navajo Nation citizens and officials debate the future of the coal industry in the Southwest, weighing the economic benefits against the environmental and human health impacts. (New York Times)

EFFICIENCY

• EPA administrator Lee Zeldin is quietly reconsidering plans to end the Energy Star program, and the agency has renewed contracts with the firm that administers the program. (New York Times)

OFFSHORE WIND

• A U.S. senator, a Congressman from Maryland, and the Delaware and Maryland attorneys general join the voices supporting the planned US Wind development against opposition from the Trump administration, the town of Ocean City, and local businesses, and fishermen. (WYPR, Baltimore Sun)

RENEWABLES

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that solar and wind provided nearly 40% of Texas’ power in 2025 so far, enabling the once-wobbly grid to accommodate record levels of demand. (Inside Climate News)

• Silicon Ranch explores how to maximize income from solar power and sheep grazing in Kentucky as it looks to expand that model to accommodate cattle. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR

• South Carolina state-owned utility Santee Cooper agrees to begin negotiations with Brookfield Asset Management on a deal to let the company restart construction of two nuclear power plants that were previously abandoned in a $9 billion boondoggle. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Volkswagen announces a $1.5 billion loss because of President Trump’s tariffs and a shift away from electric vehicles at its Porsche brand. (New York Times)

• An undisclosed number of workers have been laid off from construction on a new Indiana battery plant that General Motors and Samsung are developing as the automaker scales back EV investments. (Detroit News)

CARBON CAPTURE

• Community negotiations and local investments helped lead to the successful development of a multi-state carbon capture pipeline in the Midwest after at least three other similar projects stalled or failed. (Associated Press)