Today’s headlines: RGGI regains a member, an EV charger status update, 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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• A new report finds 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions in 2024. (The Guardian)

• Texas oil drillers brace amid President Donald Trump’s promise to bring prices down to $50 per barrel and flood the U.S. with Venezuelan oil, which experts say would make it even harder for the industry to break even on costs. (Texas Tribune)

• Duke Energy plans to build a 1.4-GW gas-fired power plant in North Carolina and considers a second, but has not yet announced a site for either facility. (Inside Climate News)

• The Trump administration’s intervention to save coal plants and roll back pollution regulations may provide a temporary lifeline for the industry, though some clean energy experts don’t foresee a lasting revival. (Grist)

POLITICS

• Virginia’s newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger moves to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (E&E News)

• In her first act as New Jersey governor, Democrat Mikie Sherrill signs orders requiring regulators to expand utility bill credits and freeze electricity rates. (New Jersey Monitor)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• States have only spent $94 million of the $4.4 billion set aside for EV charger construction under the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, though the Trump administration’s seven-month freeze of the initiative didn’t help matters. (E&E News)

MINING

• U.S. House Democrats call for a federal ethics probe of Interior Department official Karen Budd-Falen for failing to disclose a $3.5 million water rights deal between her husband and the contested Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada. (Public Domain)

GRID

• Southwest Power Pool plans billions of dollars in transmission upgrades to meet anticipated load growth in states like Kansas. (Kansas Reflector)

GEOTHERMAL

• Zanskar announces it has raised $115 million in Series C funding to expand its AI-powered geothermal-exploration platform and to develop its first greenfield power plants. (Latitude Media)

SOLAR

• Solar builder SOLV Energy says the AI boom provides an opportunity for clean energy construction to power forward despite federal challenges. (Axios)