Good morning! California is taking a big step toward clean heat. In today’s top story, Alison Takemura dives into the state’s first-of-its-kind plan to deploy 6 million heat pumps by 2030.
And in Ohio, the state Supreme Court hears a case that could remake permitting for large rural solar farms, Kathiann Kowalski reports. Plus, we’ve got news on a new fossil fuel executive in the EPA, a surprising solar farm boost, and another blow to an offshore wind farm.
In a bid to preserve federal incentives, utilities and renewable energy companies tell Congress and the White House that clean energy is essential to meeting rising demand from data centers and manufacturing. (New York Times)
Uncertainty around the future of federal incentives has cast a shadow on solar and other domestic clean energy sectors, according to analysts and manufacturers. (E&E News)
Texas experts say wind and solar energy has strengthened the state power grid and pushed down prices, debunking Trump officials’ claims that renewables are driving up costs and destabilizing the grid. (Houston Chronicle)
POLITICS
Environmentalists condemn President Trump’s choice of a former fossil fuel executive to lead the U.S. Energy Department’s efficiency and renewables office. (E&E News)
Advocacy groups urge lawmakers to fight Trump administration efforts to grant fossil fuel companies immunity from climate lawsuits. (The Guardian)
DOGE cancels leases for EPA, Bureau of Land Management and other offices used by environmental agencies. (E&E News)
SOLAR
The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a transmission project to serve a planned utility-scale solar project in southern California, saying it is part of its “energy dominance” agenda. (Heatmap, news release)
Georgia Tech researchers experiment with alternative materials to silicon-based solar chips that might allow the U.S. to build out a solar manufacturing industry to compete with China. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
A Massachusetts company launches a program to sell renewable energy credits to corporate buyers at above-market prices and use the proceeds to support community solar projects in underserved areas. (CommonWealth Beacon)
OFFSHORE WIND
Federal officials withdraw a key permit from the Atlantic Shores wind farm near New Jersey, delivering another blow to the project, which lost a major financial backer in January. (Daily Record)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The failed rollout of a fuel-efficient GM model in the 1970s offers a lesson in bad planning as U.S. automakers struggle to compete with China and lose money on EVs. (The New Republic)
COMMENTARY
Oil producers project optimism after Trump’s appointment of industry insiders to key posts but privately worry about his push for lower prices and the potential of a trade war-induced recession, writes an opinion columnist. (Bloomberg)
ATTENTION CHICAGO: UPCOMING EVENT
On stage: Conversations with clean energy experts, including Rep. Sean Casten of the U.S. Congress, Naomi Davis of Blacks in Green, Kara Demirjian Huss of TCCI Manufacturing, A.J. Patton of 548 Enterprises, David Roberts of Volts, Angela Tovar of the city of Chicago and Lisa Clemmons Stott of the Illinois Department of Commerce.
Off stage: Drink, eat, and socialize with clean energy leaders, investors, inventors, public leaders, and advocates.
🗓️March 27, 2025, 2:00 - 7:00p.m. CDT
📍 mHUB • 1623 West Fulton Street Chicago, IL 60612
Tapping Residential Capacity to Power an Evolving Grid
This E-book from Franklin Energy delves into the state of resource adequacy, exploring how residential Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) can be a game-changer.
Discover how to unlock the power of residential DERs and build a more resilient and sustainable energy future.
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