SOLAR: A Florida real estate developer plans to build a 300 MW solar facility — one of the largest in the state — to complement a 10,000-house development already under way. (Daytona Beach News-Journal)
ALSO:
• Houston’s city council votes unanimously to lease a closed landfill in a historically Black neighborhood for a solar farm. (Houston Chronicle)
• A southwestern Virginia planning commission voted to recommend approval of a 280 MW solar project, the largest in the region. (Roanoke Times)
• A county planning board in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley narrowly votes to deny a permit for a solar farm. (Staunton News Leader)
***SPONSORED LINK: North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association is offering a virtual clean energy continuing legal education (CLE) course on Feb. 2, with a specific focus on the Southeast region. Register today! ***
COAL:
• Five coal miners died last year, marking a record low amid the pandemic and a shift by utilities away from coal. (Associated Press)
• Three of four Texas cities have approved the sale of a shuttered power plant to a Kentucky company for decommissioning; the fourth is scheduled to vote in late January. (WTAW)
GRID: Appalachian Power seeks approval from regulators to upgrade a 1940s-era transmission line across five central Virginia counties. (WFXR)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A northern Virginia county receives the first of eight electric school buses through a Dominion Energy program. (Patch)
TRANSITION:
• A state agency and a leadership center at the University of Virginia jointly launch a dashboard measuring the state’s progress toward clean energy goals set by last year’s sweeping Virginia Clean Economy Act. (WCAV)
• Florida Power & Light closes its last coal-fired power plant in Florida, while Gulf Power prepares to convert a coal plant to natural gas. (Power Engineering, NorthEscambia.com)
UTILITIES:
• Consumer and environmental groups push back on Georgia Power’s rate plan for some new customers, which raises rates at peak times and includes a new fee. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Florida advocacy and faith groups are among the more than 630 entities who have called for a national moratorium on utility disconnections for non-payment during the pandemic. (Tampa Bay Times)
POLITICS: Central Texas state lawmakers plan to fight climate change with legislation on infrastructure, renewable energy and electric vehicles. (Austin Chronicle)
COMMENTARY: Independent oil and gas producers support regulation of methane as a meaningful way to combat climate change, writes the CEO of a national trade organization representing exploration and production companies. (Houston Chronicle)