Your pantry is decarbonizing

CLEAN ENERGY: Food and beverage production facilities across the U.S. begin to deploy low-carbon heating technologies as an alternative to gas-powered systems, though high costs remain a barrier. (Canary Media)

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POLITICS:

• A judge pauses enforcement of a Trump administration memo that would’ve halted funding for dozens of clean energy and climate initiatives. (Heatmap)
• The now-paused order sows confusion across the country and among federal lawmakers over how funding for clean energy development, electric school buses, and other projects will be affected. (Tampa Bay Times, E&E News, Los Vegas Review-Journal)

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GRID:

• The emergence of Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s cheaper, more energy-efficient model sends tech and energy stocks tumbling as it raises questions about the need for a massive buildout of data centers and accompanying power generation. (Utility Dive, E&E News)
• Chevron launches a partnership to build natural gas power plants that will be directly connected with data centers. (Associated Press)
• California regulators propose tighter oversight and safety rules for grid-scale battery energy storage systems in the wake of the Moss Landing facility fire. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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COAL ASH: A coalition of U.S. power companies sends a letter to Trump’s EPA nominee asking for​“immediate action” to roll back federal regulation of toxic coal ash and rescind recent enforcement actions. (Canary Media)

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‍EMISSIONS:

• The fossil fuel industry sees renewed hope in its goal of overturning the U.S. EPA’s endangerment finding, which gives the agency power to regulate greenhouse gases because of their threat to human health. (New York Times)
• U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy orders the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to re-evaluate ambitious fuel economy rules set by the Biden administration. (New York Times)
• A study says climate change-exacerbated wildfires caused federal lands in the Southwest to emit more carbon than they sequestered during five of the last 17 years. (Los Angeles Times)

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EFFICIENCY: Twenty-four states lack energy efficiency standards meant to curb energy use, which advocates say come with economic as well as climate advantages, according to a new industry report. (Grist)

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‍WIND: President Trump’s actions against wind energy development might actually benefit Texas’ wind industry because the vast majority of its projects are located on private and not federal land, says the director of a university energy institute. (Texas Standard)

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‍COMMENTARY: A California columnist urges policymakers to continue to invest in risky clean energy innovation even as the ​“expensive, bird-killing eyesore” known as Ivanpah solar plant nears its retirement. (Los Angeles Times)

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