Trump’s pro-coal push faces challenges

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.

SOLAR

• Solar generation is expected to continue growing despite federal headwinds, providing 7% of U.S. electricity this year and 8% in 2026, per U.S. Energy Information Administration data. (Utility Dive)

FEDERAL FUNDING

• Employees of federal energy and environmental agencies expect to face more deep workforce cuts following the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the White House to proceed with layoffs. (E&E News)

STATE POLICY

• The Illinois Auditor General reports that Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration failed to meet key equity provisions of the state’s law to attain 100% clean energy by 2050. (WAND)

• Republicans’ federal budget bill could endanger Minnesota’s state law to reach a 100% carbon-free grid by 2040, but utilities say they can still meet the goal. (MinnPost)

• The head of New York’s energy authority acknowledges that the state will need to rely on fossil fuels longer than planned, as economic realities slow the transition to zero-emissions power. (Spectrum News)

• Ohio regulators back a proposal to charge Amazon, Google, and other tech companies higher rates for rising power demand that’s forcing utilities to make costly grid upgrades. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Panasonic Holdings is reportedly postponing its plan to bring its new, $4 billion Kansas electric-vehicle battery plant to full capacity because of sluggish EV sales. (Reuters)

• Nissan announces plans to delay the production of two electric crossovers at a Mississippi factory due to a slowdown in EV demand. (WAPT)

• Electric vehicles now emit four times — or 73% — less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than gas-powered cars do, with EVs getting cleaner faster than expected, a new report finds. (news release)

CLIMATE

• U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says he’s asking staff to compile information about contrails and geoengineering amid a surge of conspiracy theories about weather modification following the fatal flooding in Texas. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• As Massachusetts attempts to transition away from fossil fuel use, utilities and advocates argue over whether every customer in a utility territory has the right to receive natural gas service. (CommonWealth Beacon)

• Appalachian Power announces plans to use securitization bonds to save ratepayers money as it recovers recent costs from storms and the $1.2 billion balance on two West Virginia coal-fired power plants. (Cardinal News)

NUCLEAR

• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reportedly expects to approve the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to build a small modular nuclear reactor by the end of next year. (Bloomberg)

• Federal regulators press Holtec International about the need for repairs to steam generator tubes at the 1970s-era Palisades Nuclear Power Plant that was closed three years ago but is set to reopen later this year. (MLive)

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• Ramaco Resources breaks ground on a new coal mine in Wyoming where it plans to also extract rare earth elements and other critical minerals. (Wyoming Public Radio, E&E News)

• Ioneer delays construction on its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine in Nevada, citing low commodity prices. (Nevada Current)

BIOFUELS

• Farmers tout the federal budget bill for extending the clean energy fuel production credit through 2029, which supports the use of ethanol as a sustainable aviation fuel. (CBS News)