UAW claims victory in close Kentucky EV battery union vote

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The United Auto workers are claiming victory with a 526-515 vote lead in a union election at Ford and SK On’s BlueOval EV battery factory in Kentucky, but federal officials have yet to settle the question of 41 ​“challenged ballots” that could shift the outcome. (Louisville Courier Journal, New York Times)

• An analysis finds battery makers likely will face a manufacturing surplus by the end of the decade as they build factories for what’s likely to be a declining market as the Trump administration undercuts the EV industry. (Bloomberg)

GRID

• Google announces plans to invest $9 billion in Virginia, largely for construction and expansion of data centers as the tech firm embarks on a company-wide effort to develop ​“grid-aware flexible operation” at such facilities. (Inside Climate News, Canary Media)

NUCLEAR

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises an additional $863 million in funding as it tries to commercialize nuclear fusion, with plans to build a Virginia plant to supply Google. (Canary Media)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The construction of new Texas energy generation has stalled, with companies pulling back on wind and solar development as Republicans roll back tax credits, crack down on project reviews, and cast a pall on a previously booming sector. (Houston Chronicle)

OVERSIGHT

• North Carolina’s utilities commissioner — appointed under contentious 2024 legislation giving Republicans more control of the process — has fought against the construction of solar farms if they’re not linked to battery storage while pushing for policies to encourage fossil fuels. (WFAE)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Texas officials say nearly 3,000 workers in the state’s upstream oil and gas sector lost their jobs in June and July as crude prices hovered just above break-even levels. (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES

• A North Carolina county board passes a resolution urging state and federal regulators to deny a permit for Transco’s regional pipeline expansion project due to concerns about public safety and the environment. (Winston-Salem Journal)

TRANSITION

• The federal government awards $6.12 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program grants to Virginia communities for eco-tourism and other projects on former coal mining land. (Cardinal News)

POLITICS

• North Carolina climate advocates are disheartened after a year that saw state lawmakers pass bills to eliminate an interim carbon pollution reduction target and to make it more difficult for agency boards and commissions to pass new rules. (WFAE)

COMMENTARY

• An Alabama reporter reflects on how Hurricane Katrina marked a pivot point in both climate and poverty for a generation of Gulf Coast residents. (Inside Climate News)

• Congressional Republicans’ ​“Big Beautiful Bill Act” contains an additional tax break to encourage the mining of metallurgical coal for export that’s exempt from an excise tax that goes into the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, likely weakening the disability benefit and further putting miners at risk, writes the vice president of the National Black Lung Association. (Cardinal News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Trump extends order forcing Pennsylvania fossil-fuel plant to stay open — Dan McCarthy

• Chart: The retiring coal power plants Trump could revive — Dan McCarthy

• As Trump delays steel pollution rules, study shows public health risks — Maria Gallucci