ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A North Carolina board makes changes to the state building code that would allow developers to skimp on insulation and other energy-saving basics in exchange for flashier additions such as solar panels and super-efficient appliances. (Energy News Network)
BIOGAS: North Carolina regulators approve an air permit for a renewable gas facility owned by Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy, but the 19 hog farms that will provide the methane still need permits. (NC Policy Watch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new report calls for more rural charging stations to accommodate anticipated exponential growth in Florida’s electric vehicle use over the next decade. (WCTV)
NUCLEAR: A 35-year-old Mississippi nuclear plant spent nearly three-quarters of 2020 at zero or reduced power for maintenance and other reasons, raising questions about nuclear power’s long-term reliability. (E&E News, subscription)
POLITICS: A three-term Republican incumbent holds off a Democratic challenger to win re-election to Georgia’s utility regulation commission in Tuesday’s runoff. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
PIPELINES:
• Owners of the 135-mile Double E natural gas pipeline seek permission from federal regulators to start construction in Texas and New Mexico, in hopes of beginning operations later this year. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• A natural gas pipeline connecting the Permian Basin in west Texas with Gulf Coast refineries and export terminals begins operations. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Restoration of land along the canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s route will begin this year in North Carolina and Virginia, but won’t start in West Virginia until 2022. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
UTILITIES:
• South Carolina regulators order Dominion Energy to assess its coal-fired power plants and consider replacing them with cleaner energy sources. (PV Magazine)
• Leaders in Jacksonville, Florida, say the investigation of a former mayor’s multi-year attempt to sell the city’s electric utility shows the need for more transparency in city government. (Jacksonville Daily Record)
• Virginia regulators approve a new service fee for Appalachian Power, with proceeds going to programs intended to buffer low-income customers from the cost of moving to renewable energy. (Roanoke Times)
GRID: Dominion Energy seeks approval from Virginia regulators for unpermitted work platforms and other changes as it builds an underwater transmission line in the Rappahannock River. (Rappahannock Record)
COMMENTARY:
• A Florida news station’s meteorologist touts the benefits of wind and solar energy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. (WKMG)
• An economist recalls his experiences with West Virginia’s coal industry as he charts its decline as an employer and economic power. (Greenfield Daily Reporter)
• Democratic victories in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff elections give President-elect Joe Biden the opportunity to go big on climate change and other issues, writes an opinion columnist. (Bloomberg)