Current conditions: Winter storm Garnett could drop up to 9 inches of snow on parts of New England this weekend • A blast of warm air is breaking temperature records in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado • Two people were killed in Tennessee by a possible tornado. If confirmed, this would be the first deadly tornado of 2025.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Trump administration pauses federal EV charger program
The Federal Highway Administration issued a letter to state Departments of Transportation on Thursday declaring that states were no longer authorized to spend billions of dollars previously approved for electric vehicle charging networks. The decree pertains to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, or NEVI, a program created in 2021 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocated $5 billion to states to strategically build electric vehicle charging networks along major roads. As Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo explains, advocates believed the NEVI program was untouchable because money that’s already been allocated can’t be recalled, but the FHWA apparently thinks it has found a workaround. Under NEVI, states are each allocated a certain amount of money every year for five years, and they have to submit an annual plan for how they intend to use the funds. Those plans must align with overall program guidance published by the secretary of transportation. The new leadership at the Department of Transportation has decided to rescind the previously issued guidance. That means the state plans that were previously approved are no longer valid. The letter says states will still be able to get reimbursed for expenses related to previously awarded projects, “in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.” But the more than $2.6 billion that has not been awarded will be frozen.
2. EPA puts ‘environmental justice’ employees on leave
The Environmental Protection Agency put 168 employees on administrative leave yesterday evening. The workers focused on “environmental justice,” specifically addressing pollution in underserved communities. Molly Vaseliou, an EPA spokeswoman, said these employees “did not relate to the agency’s statutory duties or grant work.” As The New York Times reported, the agency cannot put employees on leave for more than 10 days in a year, so “observers said they interpret the administrative leave notices as a first step toward the eventual shuttering the office.” Meanwhile, new U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi told the Justice Department to get rid of its environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and identify basically anyone connected to these initiatives or who might have received federal funding to advance their causes.
3. States sue New York over climate superfund
New York is being sued by 22 other states and a handful of fossil fuel companies hoping to block its Climate Change Superfund Act, which requires major polluters to pay for their emissions. Starting in 2028, the companies would end up paying $3 billion each for 25 years – amounting to some $75 billion total – and the money would go towards climate adaptation and mitigation projects. The states challenging the law say only the federal government can regulate air quality. In other legal news, the Supreme Court yesterday denied the Trump administration’s request to pause a case weighing whether California should be able to set its own vehicle emissions standards.
4. Large Georgia battery plant canceled
Norwegian clean tech company Freyr Battery has canceled its plans to build a $2.6 billion lithium-ion battery plant in Georgia. The project was expected to bring more than 700 new jobs to the state. In a letter to the Coweta County Development Authority, Freyr said the decision “was made reluctantly, as the Company has realigned its near-term strategic goals.”
5. Nissan reportedly walked away from the Honda merger
The Nissan/Honda merger is reportedly dead, and Nissan is looking for new partners. The two companies had been in talks to create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, but the negotiations fell apart after Honda pushed for Nissan to become a subsidiary of Honda, instead of creating a joint holding company. Both companies were hoping the merger would allow them to share resources to produce electric vehicles to compete with market leaders like Tesla and BYD. Back in December, when the merger was first reported, one consultant toldThe New York Times that “if Nissan and Honda are not able to achieve this, they will not survive. Times are truly that tough.”
THE KICKER
“The overall trend in cost reductions is so strong that nobody, not even President Trump, will be able to halt it.”
–Matthias Kimmel, head of Energy Economics at BloombergNEF. A new report from BNEF says the costs of renewables will continue to fall quickly in 2025, with production costs for new wind and solar farms already undercutting those of new fossil fuel plants.
