SOLAR: Prince William County, Virginia, has had some of the region’s highest fees and longest delays for solar panel permits, but that’s starting to change after frustrated stakeholders confronted officials. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• The Texas attorney general’s office says counties don’t have the authority to bar solar development, dealing a blow to a rural county that had been seeking a moratorium on new projects. (Texas Tribune)
• Duke Energy plans to build a 9.5 MW solar farm near its Asheville natural gas plant that will power an estimated 1,800 homes. (Citizen Times)
• A West Virginia Toyota factory employs sheep to munch on vegetation under its solar farm that produces about 10% of the facility’s power. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• A Texas county will reconsider joining a regional solar development coalition after commissioners rejected the partnership last month. (Fort Worth Report)
OIL & GAS:
• Texas regulators move to allow oil and gas drillers to discharge more wastewater into nearby waterways even as the health impacts remain unstudied. (Inside Climate News)
• U.S. House Democrats from Virginia and North Carolina join a group asking federal regulators to deny an extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline into North Carolina. (Augusta Free Press)
• Climate advocates say Texas’ lax oversight of methane emissions is exacerbating climate change and costing the state potential revenue from wasted gas. (Capital & Main)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• A nonprofit partners with a historic Black church in Savannah, Georgia, to build a microgrid that includes solar panels, electric vehicle charging and battery storage, and hopes to help other Black churches follow suit. (Current)
• Texas, already a clean energy powerhouse, has seen a significant expansion of wind, solar and battery projects in the year since the federal Inflation Reduction Act was passed. (Inside Climate News)
• Clean energy’s share of North Carolina’s power supply will double by the end of the decade thanks to investments spurred by federal incentives, a report predicts. (WRAL)
GRID:
• A Virginia regulator recommends suspending Dominion Energy’s interconnection rules in response to solar developers who say they are slowing development. (Virginia Mercury)
• Louisiana regulators barred utilities from shutting off power last week during a heat wave, but Entergy Louisiana resumed disconnections Tuesday as soon as temperatures fell to about 91 degrees. (Louisiana Illuminator)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A judge’s order allows Rivian to access $700 million in property tax breaks for its Georgia electric vehicle plant. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Electric vehicle startup Mullen Automotive begins production of its class 3 electric truck at its northwest Mississippi assembly plant. (Thomas)
HYDROGEN: A developer selects Mason County, West Virginia, to build a “lifecycle carbon neutral” hydrogen production facility that would rely on a combination of natural gas, carbon capture and renewable energy. (WSAZ)
EFFICIENCY: Waco, Texas, seeks a $5.38 million loan to improve city facilities’ energy efficiency. (Waco Trib)
CLIMATE: Montana youths’ climate lawsuit victory hinges on a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a clean and healthful environment — language that some Kentucky legislators have tried to codify for years. (Louisville Public Media)
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