Fwd: A clean energy rescue

[Loretta Lohman]

View in browser test 11 June 2026 Good morning! A few months ago, Rhode Island’s clean energy goals and energy-efficiency funding were in dire straits, as the state’s Democratic governor proposed rolling them back in the name of affordability. But the legislature just put its foot down, passing a budget that prevents the worst of the rollbacks, Dan McCarthy and Sarah Shemkus report.   Sarah’s been busy: In today’s second story, she digs into a blossoming effort to train workers to drill boreholes for geothermal networks. These systems can decarbonize buildings and cut energy bills, but the buildout faces a serious driller shortage that this initiative — which will start in Massachusetts — aims to help solve.  NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA Clean energy and efficiency spared in Rhode Island budget process by Dan McCarthy & Sarah Shemkus Want a job drilling for geothermal? A Northeast training hub is coming. by Sarah Shemkus TODAY'S TOP NEWS ENERGY PRICES Oil and gas executives warn the White House that gasoline prices could surge in the coming months as fuel inventories fall to critical lows. (Washington Post) U.S. inflation accelerates, with the Consumer Price Index rising 4.2% in May from a year earlier, largely due to spiking energy costs triggered by the war in Iran. (Politico, New York Times) BATTERIES The DOE reinstates a nearly $58 million grant to American Battery Technology Co., making the firm — which plans to build a commercial-scale refinery to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide — one of the few grantees to successfully appeal the Trump administration’s clawbacks. (Waste Dive, release) Panasonic plans to ​start mass-producing battery cells ​for data center applications at a ⁠Kansas plant by 2029. (Reuters) SOLAR Solar hits a new hourly generation record in New York, meeting about 29% of the state’s electricity demand around noon on June 3, mostly thanks to behind-the-meter systems. (Utility Dive) Developer Cypress Creek Energy closes on $3.5 billion in financing for one of the biggest solar and battery projects in the U.S., the first phases of which will boast 1.6 GW of solar and 1.9 GWh of storage in Arkansas for use by an undisclosed tech firm. (Bloomberg) GRID FERC approves PJM Interconnection’s proposal to fast-track interconnection requests for certain large power plants, rejecting concerns from energy company Vistra, state regulators, and others. (Utility Dive) DATA CENTERS Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott releases sweeping recommendations on data centers for the Legislature to pass in the 2027 session, including requirements that new facilities add power generation to the grid and pay for their own grid costs. (Texas Tribune) EPA head Lee Zeldin says the Trump administration won’t set nationwide environmental requirements or recommendations for the rapidly growing data center industry. (Politico) NUCLEAR Holtec considers eventually building four small modular reactors totaling nearly 1.3 GW at its shuttered Oyster Creek nuclear station in New Jersey. (Asbury Park Press) BUILDINGS Entech says AI software rolled out a year ago has slashed emissions across 401 New York City apartment buildings by nearly 25% and saved property owners over $5 million in total by helping boilers run more efficiently. (Heatmap) UPCOMING EVENT BROUGHT TO YOU BY Yotta 2026 Yotta 2026 Yotta 2026 unites 6,000+ leaders across AI infrastructure and the energy systems powering it. Connect with 350+ speakers and 250+ partners shaping compute, power, cooling, and grid innovation. Use code CANARY20 for 20% off. 🗓️  September 28-30, 2026 📍  Caesars Forum • Las Vegas, NV REGISTER NOW Canary Media is an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy and solutions to the climate crisis. Donate to support us. Canary Media, Inc., 67 Broadway St., Suite 200, Asheville, NC 28801 Manage Preferences or Unsubscribe