Texas’s not-so-free market

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

• The U.S. EPA says it will no longer ​“shut down any stage of energy production” that doesn’t pose an imminent health threat, a move a former Biden EPA official says amounts to letting companies, and especially fossil fuel companies, break the law. (New York Times)

• As FERC alleges American Efficient and its affiliates ran a fraudulent energy efficiency scheme that cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars, the company’s rebuttal threatens the regulator’s investigatory and enforcement powers. (Inside Climate News)

FEDERAL FUNDING

• The U.S. EPA has canceled 49 individual grants worth more than $230 million through early March, according to documents obtained by the Sierra Club. (Heatmap)

• The federal government’s attempt to claw back ​“green bank” funding has disrupted solar, energy efficiency, and other initiatives for low-income communities even as it faces an ongoing legal battle. (Politico)

• An investigation of the green bank’s creation and distribution finds no evidence of illegal activity. (Washington Post)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Hotter weather is driving increased fossil-fuel use as it spurs people to run air conditioners more often, creating a vicious cycle of climate change, the International Energy Agency finds. (New York Times)

• As the Trump administration and Republicans seek deep tax cuts, environmental advocates point to billions of dollars in benefits that head to oil and gas companies every year. (Inside Climate News)

• Northeast Democratic governors may be softening opposition to gas pipelines amid the pressure of high energy prices, analysts suggest. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Nissan secures a $661 million agreement with battery maker SK On for roughly 100 GWh of electric vehicle batteries made at a Mississippi factory. (Utility Dive)

GEOTHERMAL

• Trump administration staffers say geothermal energy has support from the White House even as it takes an antagonistic stance toward other renewables. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• Great Lakes states consider a variety of policy changes to spur nuclear energy development as plans progress in Michigan for the country’s first restart of a shuttered plant. (Crain’s)

SOLAR

• A Texas energy developer announces plans to build an $850 million, 5 GW solar manufacturing facility in Texas with 1,800 jobs. (Houston Chronicle)