Today’s headlines: Green loans under attack, GM’s Bolt drives into the sunset, 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.

FEDERAL FUNDING

• The DOE arm formerly known as the Loan Programs Office will eliminate $83 billion in loans and conditional commitments issued under the Biden administration, but won’t specify which loans are being targeted. (New York Times, news release)

SOLAR

• The Solar Energy Industries Association says it will ramp up its advocacy for energy storage–boosting policies at the federal, state, and local levels. (Axios)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• General Motors will end production of its Bolt EV by mid-2027 and instead assemble gas-powered SUVs at the Kansas plant where the Bolt is now made. (TechCrunch)

• EV maker Rivian pledges $4.6 million to support a proposed Washington state ballot measure that would rescind a law — from which Tesla is exempt — banning direct EV sales from the manufacturer. (Washington State Standard)

NUCLEAR

• Fusion power startup General Fusion announces plans to go public via a SPAC following a year of financial struggles. (TechCrunch)

• The federal government will reportedly offer incentives to states that agree to store nuclear waste. (Reuters)

GRID

• As a massive winter storm approaches, experts say the Texas power grid has added so many solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries that it should be able to withstand the spike in power demand. (Texas Tribune)

• Grid operator PJM Interconnection considers whether to approve construction of a $1.7 billion transmission line across central Pennsylvania amid uncertainties about the impact growing data center load will have on power prices. (Utility Dive)

MINING

• NOAA finalizes a rule making it easier for companies to apply for the right to mine the ocean floor, prompting deep-sea mining startup The Metals Co. to seek a permit to mine double the area it previously applied for. (New York Times)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general will file an antitrust lawsuit against major oil companies, claiming they acted like a cartel to thwart competition from clean energy and electric vehicles, which drove up energy prices for consumers. (Bridge Michigan)

EMISSIONS

• Southeast wood-pellet plants are making products for Europe that are considered a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, but the facilities’ emissions seem to be worsening air quality and affecting the health of their neighbors in Louisiana and Mississippi. (Grist)