Today’s headlines: FERC turns to grid enhancement, permitting reform doubts, 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.

GRID

• FERC creates a task force to examine how the agency can support grid-enhancing technologies, possibly with incentives. (Utility Dive)

• A consumer watchdog group argues that the DOE’s streamlined rules for companies looking to export U.S. electricity contradict the agency’s assertions of an ​“energy emergency,” which it has used to justify keeping old fossil-fueled power plants open. (Utility Dive)

• PJM Interconnection has until the end of September to figure out how to cope with the AI-driven boom in power demand, or it will face federally imposed reforms. (Bloomberg)

PERMITTING

• The Trump administration’s continued actions against renewable energy make it increasingly unlikely that Senate Democrats will sign off on a permitting reform bill, says Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D). (E&E News)

FEDERAL FUNDING

• A federal judge orders the EPA to administer a $2.8 billion climate grant program that the Trump administration had rescinded. (E&E News)

DATA CENTERS

• The large number of companies and politicians that have signed onto President Donald Trump’s voluntary pledge to prevent data centers from driving up power costs underscores that energy bills have become a top voter concern — and a potential liability for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. (New York Times)

• Meta leaves the RE100 initiative, a global scheme in which companies commit to sourcing all their power from renewable energy, as the tech giant ramps up new gas capacity to power its data centers. (Recharge News, TechCrunch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ford and Global Power Products roll out a device that will allow compatible Ford electric pickup truck owners to tap their vehicles for up to five days of home backup power without costly retrofits. (Utility Dive)

CLEAN ENERGY

• China plans to increase wind and solar power generation by 53% over the next five years, under a new renewable energy plan that for the first time makes its green power target binding. (Reuters)

MINING

• The government of French Polynesia plans to challenge an American startup’s proposal to explore the waters just beyond its maritime borders for seabed mining. (Grist)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The international crude oil benchmark leapt to $100 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since May, after the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. (Heatmap)

• GE Vernova reports that its orders for gas turbines doubled in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, as power companies and tech firms snap up the tech amid the AI boom. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• President Trump says that his just-signed nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia is ​“totally subject” to the kingdom signing on to the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements dating back to the first Trump administration that aim to establish diplomatic normalization between Arab countries and Israel. (Politico)