Everybody loves geothermal

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4 June 2026

Good morning! Bipartisan support is a rarity these days, but geothermal energy’s got it. A package of bills to boost the clean, 24/7 power source just passed the U.S. House with backing from both sides of the aisle. Maria Gallucci breaks down what’s in the legislation.

Next, we head to North Carolina, where small electric cooperatives have found a way to keep the lights on in the far-flung corners of the state they serve. It’s all thanks to battery storage, often paired with solar power, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

And Jeff St. John closes us out with a look into a smart meter situation that’s holding back a grid-relieving program in PJM Interconnection’s territory.

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NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

House passes bipartisan measures to speed geothermal energy projects

by Maria Gallucci

Why North Carolina’s electric co-ops are turning to grid batteries

by Elizabeth Ouzts

Utilities aren’t sharing smart meter data in PJM. That’s a problem.

by Jeff St. John

Installing EV charging at big-box stores is not as easy as it looks

by Kari Lydersen

TODAY'S TOP NEWS

COAL

President Donald Trump will soon announce a plan to use the wartime Defense Production Act to inject $700 million into the coal industry, with $425 million going toward upgrading existing coal plants and another $75 million for a California export terminal. (Reuters)

BATTERIES

Battery recycler B2U Storage Solutions partners with Waymo to reuse old batteries from the robotaxi firm’s Jaguar I-PACE fleet for grid storage. (Latitude Media)
Battery storage is progressing in Oklahoma, where regulators recently approved a utility’s purchase of three projects and where another 2.3 GW of storage is under development. (Latitude Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The U.S. saw hybrid vehicle sales jump 33% in May compared to a year earlier as gas prices remain high. (Wall Street Journal)

NUCLEAR

Top U.S. nuclear fuel enricher Urenco aims to boost its production capacity by nearly 50% through a major expansion project as the country moves away from Russian uranium. (Bloomberg)

METALS

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) sues to block the construction of what would be the country’s largest aluminum smelter, in part due to the facility’s massive energy needs. (Oklahoman)

DATA CENTERS

Early voting results suggest Monterey Park, California, will become the first city in the U.S. to vote to permanently ban data centers. (The Guardian)
The North Carolina House passes a Republican-led bill aimed at reining in data centers’ impact on residential utility bills, though Democrats argued against provisions that would keep coal- and gas-fired plants running until the state can replace them with nuclear generation. (WUNC)

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