Trump rollbacks could devastate Michigan EV manufacturing

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Midwest Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The Trump administration’s effort to roll back tailpipe emissions and EPA’s endangerment finding from 2009 could cause major disruptions to Michigan’s electric vehicle manufacturing transition, advocates say. (Bridge)

• Iowa transportation officials await new guidance for a federal electric vehicle charger program that called for $16 million for 28 projects across the state. (Radio Iowa)

• Illinois lawmakers propose a pilot program to tax drivers based on their miles driven rather than the gasoline they buy as vehicles become more fuel efficient and electrified. (Chicago Sun-Times)

PIPELINES

• The developer of a multi-state carbon pipeline asks South Dakota regulators to halt its permit application indefinitely following a new state eminent domain law the company says prevents it from doing survey work. (Argus Leader)

HYDROGEN

• A Norwegian company cites ​“new market conditions” as it pauses plans for a $400 million metro Detroit hydrogen gigafactory that had secured $200 million in state and federal incentives. (Bridge)

NUCLEAR

• An Indiana committee advances a bill that would allow utilities to recover pre-construction costs from customers for small modular reactors as a way to boost the state’s nuclear portfolio. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

• Amazon, Google and Meta sign a pledge to triple global nuclear power by 2050 as part of a broader push for nuclear to meet rising electricity demand. (E&E News)

• Ameren Missouri, which operates the state’s only nuclear plant, is evaluating ways to build up its nuclear power capacity in the long term. (KBIA)

CLIMATE

• Major U.S. retailers and tech firms who reaffirmed their commitment to climate action soon after President Trump’s election in November have softened their tone and defiant pledges as the administration moves to scale back clean energy gains under the Biden administration. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY

• Iowa leaders are removing references to climate change in state law and failing to consider the impacts on the state’s agriculture sector in a concerted effort to ignore the problem, an editorial board writes. (Des Moines Register)

• A developer’s forced withdrawal of a 500 MW agrivoltaics project in Ohio reflects the harm of a state local-control law that lets fossil fuel interests tip the scales against rural projects despite local support, a clean energy advocate writes. (Ohio Capital Journal)

• The president of We Energies says new natural gas plants play a key role in the company’s clean energy plan, as they provide backup power to renewables and reliability during extreme weather and peak demand. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)