Tesla to lay off 10% of workforce

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla will reportedly lay off nearly 10% of its workforce and two executives will leave the company after it reported disappointing first-quarter sales despite price cuts. (Associated Press)

ALSO: Workers rally at Volkswagen’s Tennessee factory ahead of a vote to unionize, part of a larger push to organize plants in the Southeast as they pivot to electric vehicle production. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

CLIMATE: The U.S. Supreme Court rules shareholders can’t sue companies for failing to disclose climate risks as a proposed federal rule to require such disclosures remains on pause. (Axios)

COAL:

• The U.S. Labor Department issues rules to crack down on acceptable levels of silica dust exposure, which has long contributed to black lung and other respiratory illnesses in miners. (The Hill)
• The West Coast’s biggest cities have long relied on power from distant coal plants in places like Montana, raising questions about what they owe those communities as they transition to clean power. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIFICATION:

• Groundwater-based geothermal heat pump systems have potential to replace fossil fuel heating in large buildings, experts say, especially in space-constrained areas that don’t have room to dig larger systems. (Utility Dive)
• A Silicon Valley tech startup aspiring to create the ​“Tesla of heat pumps” will begin selling its sleeker, smarter mini-splits in the San Francisco Bay Area next month. (Heatmap)

OIL & GAS: A new Biden administration rule aims to place the financial burden of decommissioning offshore drilling platforms on companies that owned them. (The Hill)

NUCLEAR: House and Senate lawmakers reach a consensus on legislation aimed at accelerating small nuclear, though are still struggling on a strategy to get bills to President Biden before the election. (E&E News)

GRID:

• Growing power demand, a lack of weatherization and the transition from coal continue to strain Texas’ independent power grid. (Houston Chronicle)
• Proposed legislation in Michigan would require utilities to use current costs, rather than future estimates, to justify rate increases for grid infrastructure upgrades. (WILX)

SOLAR:

• The U.S. Interior Department will spend $19 million to cover canals in California, Oregon, and Utah with floating solar panels, which could save an estimated 1.2 million gallons of water. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• An organization developing three community solar projects in traditionally underserved communities around Chicago lands a $1.6 million state-backed loan to help cover pre-construction costs. (Energy News Network)
• California’s new solar compensation rules have sent the rooftop solar market into freefall and clouded the path toward meeting the state’s climate targets, advocates say. (Canary Media)

CARBON CAPTURE: Rural Latino communities are divided about California’s first carbon capture project, which would allow an oil company to keep operating while sequestering greenhouse gas emissions. (CalMatters)

COMMENTARY: An author and longtime nuclear energy reporter says a plan to restart a Michigan nuclear plant would waste billions of dollars when building out renewables would be a far better option. (Detroit Free Press)