Latest news with #CanaryMediaWeekly
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The EPA puts toxic power plant emissions back on the table
This analysis and news roundup comes from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. On Wednesday, the U.S. EPA proposed repealing Biden administration rules that limit toxic pollutants and planet-warming emissions from coal and gas plants across the country. These plants 'do not contribute significantly' to 'dangerous' air pollution, the EPA claimed — something that many, many studies have shown isn't true. Power plants are the second-largest source of carbon emissions in the country, and they're responsible for a lot of health-harming pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, too. When the Biden administration first announced the rules last year, the EPA estimated they would stem 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047. That's the equivalent of taking 328 million gas cars off the road for a year, and amounts to an estimated $370 billion in climate and public health benefits. Those benefits would've helped communities surrounding gas and coal plants around the U.S., according to the Sierra Club's Trump Coal Pollution Dashboard. For example, Montana's Colstrip 3 plant would have to reduce its toxic pollution under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, while a slew of plants across the Midwest and Southwest would have to install carbon-capture systems or shut down under the greenhouse gas rules. The changes will allow coal plants around the country to keep burning. In North Dakota, some state officials are celebrating what they say is a big step toward protecting jobs and the coal industry. But in Georgia, health advocates and scientists warn the preservation of coal plants in their state will fall hard on vulnerable communities, especially those surrounding the facilities. Still, none of this is set in stone. The EPA's proposals are vulnerable to several legal pitfalls, including challenges involving the Clean Air Act, the agency's insistence that power plants don't produce 'significant' emissions, and the health, economic, and other costs of increasing pollution, E&E News reports. Analysts with TD Cowen expect the EPA to finalize the rules by early next year, but say legal challenges and uncertainty will continue through all of 2026. 'Big, Beautiful Bill' threatens rooftop solar President Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is already having big impacts on the rooftop solar industry. The bill, now undergoing negotiations in the Senate, looks to repeal tax credits for solar installations and other clean energy projects. That includes credits that allowed a North Carolina food bank to install solar panels on the roof of its headquarters, which it anticipates will save the organization $143,000 each year. Other nonprofits are looking to follow suit — but they probably won't be able to if they can't access federal incentives, Canary Media's Elizabeth Ouzts reports. The bill is also causing problems for two solar companies. Lender Solar Mosaic filed for bankruptcy last week, specifically citing 'legislation that threatens to eliminate tax credits for residential solar' as a forthcoming challenge. Residential solar giant Sunnova followed with a bankruptcy filing over the weekend. While both companies' difficulties predate the Trump administration, it's clear that the residential solar sector is facing a difficult and uncertain moment, one analyst told Canary Media's Jeff St. John. An analysis by Ohm Analytics estimates that the House's version of the bill would lead rooftop solar installations across the country to drop by half next year, and another from Morgan Stanley projects an 85% decrease through 2030. Bright spots for clean energy Amid a sea of bad news for clean energy companies, some are still finding success. Take Sublime Systems, which recently had its $87 million federal grant cancelled: Sublime says private-sector support is allowing its $150 million low-carbon cement factory in Massachusetts to move forward anyway. Solar panel manufacturer Qcells said it's launching a new recycling operation in Georgia to repurpose retired panels. Heirloom Carbon is meanwhile keeping its operations rolling by winning over Republican state leadership in Louisiana, where it aims to build a facility that extracts carbon dioxide from the air. Developer Intersect Power got the green light Wednesday to build what would be the biggest solar-and-storage plant in the nation. And in the Chicago area, Sun Metalon just raised $9.1 million from investors — including Japan's Nippon Steel — to build its steel decarbonization business, Canary Media's Kari Lydersen reports. The startup has created an oven-sized box that melts down waste metal and sludge from steel and aluminum production, churning out pucks of reusable, recyclable metal. Vehicle emissions blowback: A group of 11 states sue after President Trump signs a congressional resolution rolling back California's vehicle emissions standards, which several other states have adopted. (The Hill) Budget bill update: Democrats — and some Republicans who voted for the House-passed version of the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' — look to convince Senate Republicans to preserve clean energy tax credits as budget discussions continue. (The Hill, Politico) Community electrification: California researchers report success and lessons learned from an experiment aimed at cutting electrification costs by upgrading multiple households in a single neighborhood, which saved contractors time and allowed residents to buy products in bulk. (KQED) GM reverses on EVs: While General Motors is still ramping up EV production, its new plan to spend $4 billion on mostly gasoline-powered cars means the company has given up on a goal to make only EVs by 2035, analysts say. (E&E News) Texas' gas commitment: A study finds developers have proposed more than 100 gas-fired power plants totaling 58 gigawatts in Texas, which have the potential to emit an estimated 115 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year. (Inside Climate News) Charging forward: A J.D. Power survey finds fewer attempts to charge at public EV stations are ending in failure than in years past, and that the total number of public chargers is rapidly expanding. (New York Times) Batteries' battle: U.S. battery recyclers face 'a limbo moment' because the Trump administration has endorsed efforts to produce critical minerals while also imposing tariffs and threatening to repeal clean energy tax credits. (Grist)
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The quiet demise of Texas' anti-renewables legislation
This analysis and news roundup comes from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. Over the past few months, the Texas Senate passed three bills that could've devastated the state's nation-leading renewable energy rollout — but clean energy appears to have dodged the bullet. The first of those bills would establish new fees, setback requirements, and other permitting regulations on utility-scale wind and solar development, even though fossil-fuel plants don't face the same restrictions. The second would require large renewables installations to buy gas generation as a backup. And the third would ensure all renewable power development came with a side of fossil fuels, as it directed that 50% of all new power plant capacity added to the state's grid come from dispatchable resources other than battery storage. That would have amounted to a gas mandate: Since solar panels and wind turbines can only produce power under certain conditions (sun shining, wind blowing, you know the drill), they can only be dispatchable power sources if batteries are involved. An earlier version of the bill explicitly said 50% of new capacity would have to come from gas. These bills would have seriously slowed Texas' deployment of solar, batteries, and wind power, which are shattering power-generation records in the state and helping its grid withstand extreme weather and meet surging electricity demand. The legislation would have caused reliability to fall and utility bills to soar, according to an April report from Aurora Energy Research. But the Texas House's session is set to end on June 2, and none of those three bills have been scheduled for consideration. This doesn't necessarily mean they won't resurface at some point, but they're at least dead as standalone bills for this session, Doug Lewin writes in his Texas Energy and Power newsletter. There are growing signs that these sorts of restrictions on renewables aren't popular among many Texas Republicans and business interests. Recent polling from Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation shows widespread Republican support for renewables, while even the Texas Oil and Gas Association allied with renewable power generators to oppose the state House's companion to the Senate's bill requiring gas backup for clean energy. Similar efforts in the state were defeated two years ago as well. DOE orders a coal plant to stay open The Trump administration took its pro-coal agenda to a new level last Friday, ordering a retiring Michigan coal plant to stay open through at least the end of August. The J.H. Campbell plant was supposed to shut down tomorrow, and Michigan utility Consumers Energy had been working since at least 2021 to do so. But the administration contended that the Midwest faces an 'energy emergency' and needs the plant to guarantee power reliability. Clean energy advocates, consumer watchdogs, and even Michigan's top energy regulator disagree. 'We currently produce more energy in Michigan than needed,' Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps said in a statement. 'The unnecessary recent order from the U.S. Department of Energy will increase the cost of power for homes and businesses across the Midwest.' Trump's nuclear orders probably won't outweigh cuts President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders late last week to boost nuclear power — though they probably won't counteract his many moves to weaken the industry. The four orders will: Expedite nuclear reactor testing at federal labs, with a goal of approving three new designs by next year. Slash regulations for building nuclear reactors on federal lands. Speed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's reviews of reactor licenses. Boost uranium mining and enrichment. But in recent months, the Trump administration has also looked to reduce funding for the Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy, and cut staff at the Loan Programs Office, even though it funds nuclear reactor projects. And though nuclear made out better than other low-carbon energy sources in the federal budget bill recently passed by the House, projects would only be eligible for tax credits if they start construction by 2028 — an ambitious timeline for a famously slow-to-build energy source. Those are big setbacks that won't 'magically be solved' by simply cutting red tape, Josh Freed, who heads the climate and energy program at that think tank Third Way, told Latitude Media. DOGE days over? Elon Musk announces he'll leave the Trump administration as Tesla investors demand he return to the company, then condemns the U.S. House's proposed end to clean energy tax credits. (Associated Press, Financial Times, Politico) A blow to industrial decarbonization: The U.S. Energy Department announces the termination of $3.7 billion in grants from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which funds carbon capture and other ambitious but unproven projects to help cut industrial emissions. (news release) Solar loses its farm: A U.S. Agriculture Department report says solar development on productive farmland poses a 'considerable barrier' to agricultural expansion, and the department says it will reshape federal loans to disincentivize solar on farmland. (Heatmap) I'll drive what she's driving: A nonprofit's nationwide campaign aims to get more women into electric vehicles, including by turning suburban moms into EV ambassadors who can talk about benefits, like lower operating costs than gas cars and added storage space with 'frunks.' (Canary Media) Recycling reduction: The collapse and bankruptcy of EV battery recycling startup Li-Cycle underscores the battery recycling industry's challenges, especially as federal support dwindles. (Canary Media) Things that make no sense: The U.S. EPA has reportedly drafted a plan to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions limits on coal and gas power plants, stating in its proposed rule that the facilities 'do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution' or climate change. (New York Times) Another threat to batteries: Executives overseeing battery component production at an LG Energy Solution plant in western Michigan say the combination of high tariffs and restricted federal subsidies would devastate the domestic market that's attempting to compete with China. (New York Times) Cities step up on climate: Cleveland's work around reducing building emissions and installing EV chargers in underserved neighborhoods shows how U.S. mayors are taking climate action, with or without the help of the federal government. (Grist)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Geothermal and nuclear could lose big under GOP tax proposal
This analysis and news roundup comes from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. The House Ways and Means budget proposal would gut the Inflation Reduction Act and slow the rollout of solar, wind, and storage. It'd crimp EV adoption and crush clean-energy manufacturing. Energy costs and carbon emissions would rise. Green hydrogen would remain forever a whisper in the wind, even after so much screaming about the arcane rules governing its incentives. But it'd also derail two Republican hobbyhorses: nuclear power and advanced geothermal. The proposal introduced Monday is 'a backdoor repeal' of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ted Lee, a former Biden administration Treasury official, told Canary Media's Jeff St. John. Onerous 'foreign entity of concern' requirements would likely render an important incentive available to all carbon-free energy sources useless for any project not already underway, including nuclear and geothermal installations. Lee described it as 'death by red tape.' That could be painful for advanced geothermal projects, which are few in number but crucial to developing an industry whose promise of 24/7 carbon-free energy has captivated Republicans, Democrats, and even Big Tech firms. Tax credits help make these early-stage projects financially feasible — and repealing them could cause developers to 'struggle to secure financing and price output competitively,' per a March Rhodium Group report. The proposal would also end the 45U nuclear power tax credit three years early, in 2031, meaning it could disappear before any planned nuclear power plant can even use it. A tax expert told Latitude Media that nuclear would be 'by far the most disadvantaged' if the bill became law. Republicans in the Senate and House have already criticized the tax-credit cuts as too far-reaching and have called for changes, including to the foreign-entity requirements. A geothermal trade group told Axios several Republican offices are open to creating carve-outs for the energy source; at least one GOP lawmaker is pushing to preserve 45U. 'There's going to be lots of changes,' Ways and Means Vice Chair Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican who supports IRA tax credits, told a Politico reporter. 'It's not over.' Other recent moves by Republicans and the Trump administration could create additional headwinds for nuclear. That includes the ongoing effort to dissolve the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, which has backed the only U.S. nuclear reactors to come online this century as well as a more recent effort to revive a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant. All of this is difficult to square with Trump's broad proclamations that he will unleash American energy dominance. It's even harder to reconcile with Energy Secretary Chris Wright's specific call for a 'nuclear renaissance' and explicit support for geothermal. But then, the prevailing principle of this Trump administration has not been tidy logic. Instead, it appears to be volatility and chaos — and this proposal from Congress certainly furthers that tradition. The steady rise of electric vehicles While Tesla sees its sales shrink and cedes its status as the world's biggest EV-maker to China's BYD, the global EV market as a whole is growing apace. This year, more than one-quarter of vehicles sold worldwide will be full EVs or plug-in hybrids, which have big, chargeable batteries, per a new International Energy Agency report. China is by far the biggest EV market in the world. Over 11 million EVs and plug-ins were sold there last year — more than were sold worldwide in 2022. Almost half of all cars sold in the country were electric in 2024. Europe is the next-biggest market, though sales are stagnating in the region. Stateside, the IEA expects modest growth, but that outlook is clouded by the propensity of the Trump administration and Republicans to introduce extreme new measures that could tank EV sales. Maine keeps innovating on heat pumps The persistent myth that heat pumps don't work in the cold has met its match: Maine. In 2023, the very cold state not only reached its heat-pump installation goal ahead of time — it doubled down on more heat-pump adoption. Now, Canary Media's Sarah Shemkus reports that the clean-heat technology is central to the state's plan to lower electricity bills for its residents — even those who aren't planning to get a heat pump themselves. The idea is to install as many heat pumps as possible in order to save households money on heating costs and also suppress statewide power rates, which could lead to an estimated $490 million in savings on electricity rates alone over the long term. Trade war relief… for now: China and the U.S. agree to significantly reduce tariffs on one another for 90 days, easing a tense trade war that has already driven up costs for domestic manufacturers of batteries, solar panels, EVs, and other cleantech and which has cast deep uncertainty over the entire economy. (CNBC) Batteries still face a tough road: Domestic battery manufacturing and deployments have been growing fast — but Trump's trade wars and uncertainty around clean-energy tax credits threaten to derail progress. (Canary Media) Fighting for IRA: A dozen House Republicans come out against this week's budget proposal that would effectively repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, pushing for revisions to its 'foreign entity of concern' and eligibility provisions as well as the preservation of tax-credit transferability. (E&E News) Here comes the sun: The solar industry prepares a lobbying blitz following the House GOP budget proposal that would gut clean energy incentives, the sector's latest attempt to preserve the tax credits that have helped solar installations grow rapidly. (Latitude Media) What emergency? 15 states sue the Trump administration over its executive order declaring an 'energy emergency,' arguing that no such crisis exists and that the declaration is encouraging federal agencies to unlawfully skip over proper environmental protections. (New York Times) Empire Wind wobbles: Equinor says it will abandon its Empire Wind offshore wind project off the coast of New York if the Trump administration doesn't lift its stop-work order. (E&E News) Finding the words: At a recent offshore wind industry conference, speakers had lots of advice on how to make the case for President Trump's least favorite form of energy to Republicans. (Canary Media) The right direction: A new analysis finds that despite China's growing power demand, the nation's emissions have declined by 1% over the last 12 months compared with the year prior, the result of surging clean energy construction. (Carbon Brief)
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
States fight back against Trump's wind and EV attacks
This analysis and news roundup comes from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. In his first 100 days, President Donald Trump has antagonized the clean energy industry, putting crucial federal funding on ice, rolling back key regulations, and even coming after state climate laws. This week, Democrat-led states took to the courts to begin fighting back. On Monday, attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit aimed at protecting the clean energy sector that's caught most of Trump's ire: wind. Trump's Day 1 executive order paused the approval of new federal leases, permits, and loans for wind farms, and his EPA and Interior Department have gone on to revoke existing permits from one offshore project and order work to stop on another that had already begun at-sea construction. The suit alleges the president doesn't have the authority to single-handedly shut down the permitting process — and that his moves threaten thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in investments, and the country's clean energy transition. In an interview with Canary Media's Clare Fieseler, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Trump's anti-wind orders fly in the face of his 'energy dominance' goals, on top of being carried out unconstitutionally. 'This is a time when we're dealing with rising costs, when everyone agrees we should be increasing domestic energy production,' Platkin said. 'It's flagrantly illegal, but it also just makes no sense.' Environmental advocate and renewable energy professor Chris Powicki speculated to Massachusetts local news station CAI that Republican-led states may become quiet backers of the suit, given that Trump's order also targets onshore wind farms, which many of them have benefited from. A similar coalition of 16 states and D.C. hit the courts again on Wednesday, this time suing the U.S. Transportation Department for withholding billions of dollars for a national electric-vehicle charger buildout. The attorneys general alleged the administration's move is illegal since the funding was allocated as part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, meaning only Congress has the power to pull it back. A rollback would jeopardize hundreds of charging stations that haven't yet been built. Energy Star is Trump's latest target President Trump's attacks on energy efficiency reached new heights this week, as the U.S. EPA reportedly told staffers it's planning to shut down its Climate Protection Partnerships division and the Energy Star program it houses. If there's one EPA program you know, it's probably Energy Star, which uses its signature blue sticker to indicate how much energy — and money — an appliance can save consumers. Republicans in Congress have also made several moves against energy efficiency in the past few weeks, passing resolutions to undo Biden-era regulations governing commercial refrigerators, water heaters, and other appliances, and to repeal a rule affecting efficiency labeling and certification. More cuts could be on the way as the Trump administration and Congress work to roll back Inflation Reduction Act tax credits — some of which reduce the cost of home efficiency upgrades. This offshore wind farm is a win for sea life A new in-depth study of the South Fork offshore wind farm shows fish have nothing to fear when it comes to turbines. Scientists surveyed the seafloor off the Long Island coast before, during, and after the array's construction and found it had no negative impact on the area's biological communities. The wind farm also became a makeshift reef for marine invertebrates to latch onto, attracting dozens of fish and shellfish species to feast. The study is further proof that the installations don't necessarily pose serious threats to marine life — something President Trump and other offshore wind opponents have repeatedly alleged. And despite ongoing federal animosity toward offshore wind, two developers recently said they'll continue building. Danish energy company Ørsted said it will move forward with its New York and Rhode Island wind farms, while Canary Media's Clare Fieseler reported this week that Dominion Energy is pressing on in the waters off Virginia. Manufacturing at risk: The Trump administration looks to gut the Energy Department's Industrial Demonstrations Program, putting 26 U.S. manufacturing projects and thousands of jobs at risk. (Canary Media) IRA uncertainty continues: A Republican Congress member says there's 'a lot of disagreement' in his party over whether to preserve, edit, or repeal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. (E&E News) A cleaner rebuild: A new report makes the case that it could be cheaper and quicker to replace Los Angeles buildings destroyed in January's wildfires with all-electric structures, even after Mayor Karen Bass exempted rebuilds from all-electric building codes. (Canary Media) Unfair share: As congressional Republicans look to tax EV drivers to make up for lost gas-tax revenue, an analysis shows EV and hybrid-vehicle owners would pay far more under those fees than drivers of gas-powered cars pay in fuel taxes. (Washington Post) What's the holdup? Energy analytics firm Enverus finds Texas has some of the shortest wait times for solar and wind projects looking to interconnect to the power grid, while California's wait times are among the longest. (Forbes) Oversight, out of mind: The U.S. EPA hasn't filed any new cases against major polluters under President Trump, and has significantly scaled back minor criminal and civil enforcement cases. (Grist) The grid's growing pains: Grid operator PJM Interconnection selects 51 projects, mostly gas-fueled power plants and battery storage facilities, to jump to the head of its interconnection queue as part of an effort to get power online faster. Opponents to a similar plan in the Midwest say it could worsen grid bottlenecks while discouraging cheaper and clean energy. (E&E News, Canary Media) A salty development: Startup Inlyte Energy looks to commercialize iron-salt battery technology invented in the 1980s, and is launching its first large-scale test with Southern Co., one of the biggest utilities in the U.S. South. (Canary Media)
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
As clean vehicle rules face repeal, advocates urge states to stay strong
This analysis and news roundup comes from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. California is a trendsetter when it comes to cleaning up transportation. But the Republican-controlled Congress is trying to put an end to that, albeit through dubious legal means. For years, the state's various clean vehicle rules have gone well beyond federal emissions standards. Its Advanced Clean Cars II program requires that all new passenger cars sold in the state must be zero-emissions by 2035; Advanced Clean Trucks mandates that manufacturers scale up their sales of zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Eleven other states and Washington, D.C., have adopted California's latest zero-emissions cars rules, and 10 have adopted its Advanced Clean Trucks regulations. But to be enforceable, those rules needed waivers from the U.S. EPA. The waivers are what the U.S. House targeted this week, voting on Wednesday to repeal Advanced Clean Trucks and on Thursday to rescind Advanced Clean Cars II, with support from major automakers. The House votes came even after the Government Accountability Office — the nation's top legislative auditor — said Congress doesn't have the authority to revoke the waivers via the Congressional Review Act. The repeals still face an uphill battle in the Senate, where the body's parliamentarian similarly said the waivers aren't subject to such congressional oversight. But advocates in some of the states that have followed California's lead don't want to let the potential repeal derail their EV progress. More than 60 environmental, business, and housing groups sent letters to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey last week, calling on her to preserve the state's EV goals. Healey has already postponed enforcement of similar rules encouraging zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales last month, but this coalition says the remaining regulations are critical to meeting the state's net-zero goals, Canary Media's Sarah Shemkus reports. Illinois advocates are meanwhile still pushing their state to adopt Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Cars II, they told Canary Media's Kari Lydersen last month. Places like Joliet and Chicago's Little Village neighborhood have become overrun with heavy-duty trucks as warehouses crop up, bringing excessive diesel pollution with them. Replacing those trucks with zero-emissions vehicles would improve air quality, especially in frontline communities that face higher pollution burdens. Back in California, concrete progress on electrifying heavy-duty trucks is still happening, Canary Media's Jeff St. John reports. Two all-electric charging depots just opened last month — infrastructure that will allow electric trucking to keep on growing, despite all the potholes ahead. Community solar is winning over Republicans Community solar is building a surprising fan base. Republican state lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio have sponsored bills this year to encourage construction of solar arrays that multiple households can tap into, Alison Takemura reports for Canary Media. Pairing community solar with agricultural land is even at the heart of a model policy from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. Advocates say community solar is in line with the conservative principles of free markets and individual property rights — and a recent survey out of deep-red Texas seems to agree. The poll, commissioned by Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, found more than 90% support protecting property owners' rights to produce electricity on their land, including with wind turbines or solar panels, and say they should be allowed to lease their land out for power generation too. Could Spain's massive blackouts happen in the U.S.? Spain and Portugal suffered one of Europe's worst power outages ever on Monday. About 55 million people lost power, sidelining hospitals, disrupting cell signals, and halting digital payments. The massive outage on a usually stable grid stirred up accusations — including from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright — that renewable power was to blame. Spain's grid operator hasn't yet disclosed what caused the outages, but the country's environmental minister said Wednesday that renewables weren't responsible. Nearly 55% of Spain's electricity on Monday came from solar, with another 10% each from wind, nuclear, and hydropower — a similar mix to what's powered the country's grid in the past, without problems. Still, experts say the outages highlight stability challenges that renewables can pose during power disruptions, and show that grid operators need to implement new technologies to better manage increasing amounts of wind and solar. Tesla turmoil: Elon Musk and Tesla's board chair deny a report suggesting the EV maker is seeking a new CEO amid Musk's increasing political activity and the company's sinking finances. (Axios, Wall Street Journal) Gutting grants: The U.S. EPA indicates in a court filing that it intends to cancel 781 grants issued under the Biden administration, most of them tied to environmental justice, and has already notified about half of those recipients of the looming cuts. (Washington Post) 100 days of climate demolition: President Donald Trump has signed 20 climate-related executive orders in his first 100 days in office, and his term has so far been marked by stock market uncertainty, clean-manufacturing project cancellations, and tariffs that are set to hurt the fossil-fuel industry. (Heatmap) Burgum's energy pivot: Now largely focused on oil and gas development, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has taken a sharp turn since supporting an 'all of the above' energy strategy that included clean energy while serving as North Dakota's governor. (E&E News) A second life for coal plants: Former coal-fired power plants are becoming in-demand properties as developers look to re-use the facilities' existing power lines for gas-fired power plants, battery storage sites, or offshore wind connections. (Associated Press) First Solar's fortunes fall: American manufacturer First Solar, which saw a stock bump in the wake of Trump's tariffs, has since reported lower-than-expected first quarter earnings and reduced its expected revenue and profit for the rest of the year. (Heatmap) EV education at risk: Programs that train students to work in EV manufacturing, which arose to supply the growing industry with workers, could peter out amid the Trump administration's continued attacks on the sector. (Hechinger Report)
