What we’re watching in 2026

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.

VENEZUELA

• President Donald Trump says the U.S. will ​“run” Venezuela and control its oil production after the capture of leader Nicolás Maduro. (Axios)

• The Trump administration has reportedly told U.S. oil companies they must quickly reenter Venezuela and revive its petroleum industry if they want to reclaim assets taken by the country decades ago. (Politico)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration orders the Craig Station coal plant in northwestern Colorado to continue operating beyond its scheduled end-of-2025 retirement date, even though the facility went offline due to a mechanical failure in mid-December. (Associated Press, Big Pivots)

• The Trump administration orders three Indiana coal plant units to stay online past their anticipated closure date of Dec. 31, again citing grid emergency conditions despite the closures’ prior approval from the regional grid operator. (Utility Dive)

• Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality approves an air quality permit for Dominion Energy’s proposed 944-MW gas-fired power plant, but state utility regulators suspend their previous approval due to significant community opposition. (WRIC, Virginia Business)

• The Tennessee Valley Authority announces it will add gas-fired turbines at a power plant near Memphis, Tennessee, bringing its total of new gas-fired construction to more than 3,600 MW. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The developers of Revolution Wind off Rhode Island and Empire Wind off New York join Virginia’s Dominion Energy in challenging a Trump administration order halting work on five offshore wind projects over unspecified ​“national security” concerns. (New York Times)

DATA CENTERS

• Nearly obsolete fossil-fuel-fired peaker plants are being forced back into service thanks to rising electricity demand from AI data centers. (Reuters)

POLITICS

• Congress is slated to revive permitting discussions this week after Democrats called them off at the end of 2025 over the Trump administration’s offshore wind halt. (E&E News)

GRID

• Evergy plans to build a $493 million transmission line that will start near Wichita, Kansas, at a major connection point for power generated from wind projects. (Topeka Capital-Journal)