Today’s headlines: Dominion and NextEra to merge, Michigan coal plant hearings continue, and more

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.

UTILITIES

• Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy announce they will merge to form the world’s largest regulated utility, serving approximately 10 million customers in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. (CNBC)

COAL

• A federal appeals court panel hears Midwest states’ arguments that the Trump administration’s orders to keep a Michigan coal plant online are illegal and based on a manufactured energy emergency. (MLive)

• The Trump administration meanwhile argues that it alone has the authority to decide whether an energy emergency exists. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR

• A study finds pollution from coal plants can block sunlight and jeopardize solar power production, especially when panels are located next to the fossil fuel facilities. (Bloomberg)

• Chinese solar exports were up 60% in April compared to the same month last year. (Reuters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Automakers fear a little-noticed change to how the DOE calculates fuel economy standards may have unintentionally created a mandate to scale up EV production. (E&E News)

• A federal highway funding bill includes a fee on electric and hybrid vehicles that’s likely to turn most Democrats against the legislation. (E&E News)

OVERSIGHT

• The DOE disbursed just 2% of its budgeted funding in fiscal year 2025, down from 38% the year before, with an analysis attributing the shortfall to the department’s staffing shortages. (Heatmap)

DATA CENTERS

• The U.S. Justice Department considers intervening to support Elon Musk’s xAI as the NAACP sues the company, alleging it is illegally operating a gas-fired power plant in Mississippi to support a Tennessee data center. (New York Times, Utility Dive)

NUCLEAR

• Opponents of an Ohio bill that would restore utilities’ ability to build and own nuclear plants say the plan mirrors the customer-backed utility model that led to the state’s largest public corruption scandal. (Cleveland.com)

CRITICAL MINERALS

• Lithium Americas says tariffs on steel and rising oil prices could increase the cost of building its Thacker Pass mine by as much as $120 million. (Mining)

HYDROGEN

• More startups are drilling deep underground to search for naturally occurring hydrogen, which could be critical for decarbonizing heavy industry. (New York Times)