Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, we’re covering new renewable energy projects, the administration’s latest attack on offshore wind, and a huge win for free and fair elections in Georgia.
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“These two things are not a coincidence. They are a result of a system that’s designed to protect utility profits, not rate payers.”
— Michigan Representative Natalie Price on the state’s residents paying incredibly high utility rates while facing frequent outages.
“We are losing our water sources, we’re losing our power, we’re losing our serenity, we’re losing our land. This is one of the most important issues in front of America today.”
— Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America, a group heavily aligned with the MAHA movement, on the importance of a moratorium on data centers.
“The beauty of history is the unvarnished storytelling of a time gone and by and the delivery of undeniable truths. The Government’s stewardship of these park sites thus carries a responsibility to present history in full rather than in favored fragments.”
— U.S. District Judge Angel Kelly on why Trump should restore removed signs regarding climate change and slavery at the U.S. national parks.
LARGEST WIND PROJECT IN THE U.S. BEGINS OPERATIONS IN NEW MEXICO: New Mexico’s SunZia Wind Project has officially come online and is expected to begin commercial operations in the next two weeks. The project consists of over 900 turbines, with a summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts. The turbines are spread across three New Mexico counties, and the project will also deliver wind energy to Arizona and California via a 550-mile high-voltage transmission line. The completion of SunZia brings New Mexico’s total wind capacity to up to 7,647 megawatts.
MICHIGAN HOUSE DEMOCRATS PROPOSE NEW BILLS TO REDUCE ENERGY COSTS: A team of Michigan House Democrats is proposing a package of energy bills aimed at holding utilities accountable to protect customers from high energy costs and outages. The package consists of three bills that propose capping utilities’ return on equity, prohibiting utilities from charging ratepayers for certain expenses like political spending and executive compensation, and requiring independent audits of utility performance. The legislation builds on the “Ratepayer Bill of Rights” introduced last year to address growing concerns about expense and reliability issues in the state.
MILCV TAKE: Michigan LCV West Michigan Regional Organizer Michael King said, “Young Michiganders are fed up with skyrocketing energy costs and are looking to our elected leaders to do something about it. That’s why I’m proud to stand with state lawmakers today who are introducing bills that would cap utility company profits, stop them from charging us for their private jets and public relations campaigns and audit them to ensure their investments go toward improving grid reliability.”
TRUMP’S INTERIOR DEPARTMENT CANCELS ADDITIONAL OFFSHORE WIND LEASES: The Interior Department announced a $765 million agreement with Invenergy to terminate offshore wind leases located across New York, California, and Maine. The deal requires Invenergy to redirect the funds to the development of methane gas-fired power plants across the Midwest. This agreement is the third in a series of offshore wind lease buy-outs from the Trump administration as they try to dismantle the clean energy industry in favor of dirty, expensive fossil fuels. Check out statements from our California, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey leagues.
OUR TAKE: LCV Local Clean Energy Deployment Director Kathleen Meil said, “This is yet another corrupt deal designed to continue the Trump administration’s agenda to ban clean energy and prop up fossil fuels – an agenda that is raising costs and keeps losing in court. While energy prices soar and working families struggle to make ends meet, this administration is committing nearly $2.5 billion in taxpayer dollars NOT to build affordable clean energy. Congress must step in to stop these deals and hold the administration and any company that accepts them accountable. Everyday people are paying the price.”
GEORGIA REJECTS REDISTRICTING PUSH: In a huge win for free and fair elections, Georgia’s majority-Republican state House rejected a push from Governor Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Georgia is the latest state to attempt to redistrict following the Supreme Court’s decision to dismantle the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais earlier this spring. LCV state affiliate Georgia Conservation Voters was on the frontlines of this fight mobilizing Georgians to speak out against this racist mid-decade redistricting attempt. While the measure has been defeated for the time being, the potential for revisiting the issue before the 2028 elections remains.
LOCAL BUS COMPANY LAUNCHES LARGEST SCHOOL BUS ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT IN NEW YORK: A local bus company, GCV Ltd., unveiled a fleet of 45 new electric school buses now operating in the Bronx. The Bronx is a primarily low-income community of color that is forced to bear a disproportionate level of air pollution that can cause a range of negative health effects. The new electric buses will mean cleaner, safer air for children riding the bus and local communities.
NYLCV TAKE: New York LCV President Julie Tighe said, “Too many children are forced to breathe dirty diesel exhaust on their rides to and from school, which can trigger respiratory illnesses and have lifelong impacts on learning outcomes. These 45 new electric school buses will help improve air quality for Bronx families, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide students with a cleaner, quieter ride so they arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. We applaud GVC LTD, Con Edison, and their partners for investing in cleaner transportation for our children and our communities.”
VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS PULL BACK ON COMMITMENT TO HOLD DATA CENTERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS: The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate backtracked on their commitment to hold data centers to high standards to protect the environment, with neither chamber taking proactive, comprehensive action to hold data centers accountable. While the Senate introduced a pay-to-pollute model taxing dirty generators, their proposal fails to address any other data-center-related environmental issues.
VALCV TAKE: Virginia League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Michael Town said, “Virginians are rightfully angry. The data center industry is polluting our air, driving up our electric bills and being a bad neighbor, and yet we are no closer today to solutions than we were in January. Virginia politicians are failing their voters. People are sick and tired of watching big corporations and the billionaires and trillionaires who run them get ahead at their expense. Without standards in place, the data center industry will continue to harm communities, pollute our air and water, and make it harder to secure our clean energy future. No more data center projects should be allowed to move forward until lawmakers pass the comprehensive solutions that Virginians deserve and demand.”
NEVADA RESIDENTS DEMAND RELIEF FROM RISING UTILITY BILLS: This week, community members packed a Public Utilities Commission hearing to oppose rising utility costs and call for greater utility accountability. Advocates raised concerns about NV Energy’s long-term energy plan and proposed gas plant investments, and Southwest Gas’s request for a $70 million rate increase, arguing that Nevada families cannot afford continued increases to their monthly bills.
ELECTRIFICATION IS POPULAR WITH BUSINESS: Commissioned by a group of green groups, a survey polling 2,000 business executives in 18 countries, including the U.S., found that 91% of businesses believe that electrification will improve their energy security, with 90% of businesses expecting to largely electrify their operations within the next 10 years. Despite political headwinds, U.S. businesses remain supportive of electrification with 88% planning to electrify by 2035. The vast majority of those surveyed believe that electrification based on renewables can boost economic growth while lowering costs.
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for exciting new content, coming soon to The Power Source Blog!
ON OUR SOCIALS: Energy bills through the roof? We’ve got a bill for that! While House Democrats work overtime to save all of us money, Trump is finding new and creative ways to waste taxpayer dollars and drive up our costs.
JUNE 19: Juneteenth.
JUNE 21: First day of summer.
JULY 2: Comment period on USPS’ proposal to block mail in voting closes.
JULY 4: 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. (And one year since Republicans passed and enacted the big ugly bill, driving up families’ costs.)
JULY 17-19: John Lewis Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters