Today’s headlines: Geothermal lease sale results, big nuclear plans in Indiana and Kentucky, 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.

GEOTHERMAL

• Developers Ormat and Invenergy dominated bids in yesterday’s federal geothermal lease sale, which brought in $4.5 million for parcels in Nevada and sold some plots slated for solar development. (Reuters)

NUCLEAR

• The Nuclear Company announces plans to build as many as six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a proposed nuclear energy campus in Kentucky. (news release)
• Indiana plans to partner with a Canadian nuclear and engineering firm as well as electric cooperative Hoosier Energy to build 6 GW of new nuclear generation. (Indianapolis Star)

PERMITTING BILL

• Former officials from the Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations unite in their support of the Senate’s permitting reform bill. (letter)
• A new interactive tool shows how much time could be saved on permitting transmission, solar, geothermal, and other energy projects under the legislation. (Center on Global Energy Policy)

BATTERIES

• General Motors leads a $108 million funding round for Peak Energy as the sodium-ion battery startup looks to expand manufacturing at its California plant. (Bloomberg)

GRID

• The DOE announces $967 million in funding for state and tribal grid improvements. (news release)

WIND

• The Trump administration files a request to reconsider the federal construction permit for a wind farm planned off the Maryland coast, claiming the project could harm whales, the fishing industry, and scientific research. (WTOP)

EMISSIONS

• The Trump administration prepares to release relaxed methane emissions rules this month — a move observers in the Permian Basin say will exacerbate emissions from an already heavily polluting industry. (Inside Climate News)

DATA CENTERS

• A growing number of New England towns are restricting or banning data centers in the face of widespread concern about energy prices and environmental damage. (NHPR)