BUILDINGS: The North Carolina Senate is expected to vote today on a bill to strip power from a state building code council and block new rules for energy-efficient home construction that have been opposed by the state’s powerful developer lobby. (Energy News Network)
CLIMATE: An investigation finds a quarter of Louisiana residents live within a mile of one of the state’s 740 plants, refineries and other sites with toxic chemicals that also are at risk of flooding. (NOLA.com)
OIL & GAS:
• The Tennessee Valley Authority prepares to start three new natural gas-fired turbines at a shuttered Alabama coal plant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Tennessee residents express concern for their power bills and quality of life after the Tennessee Valley Authority announces plans to build a new gas plant and 12-mile pipeline to replace a coal-burning unit. (WSMV)
• The global oil market tightens as Appalachian and Gulf Coast producers dial back production due to price drops from last year. (Reuters)
GRID:
• Texas sees record-breaking heat, straining the state power grid and drawing attention to vulnerable populations. (Texas Tribune)
• Solar developers argue the Texas heat wave now testing the state electrical grid demonstrates the need to build more solar power facilities. (KCEN)
SOLAR:
• Solar developers are building a growing number of utility-scale facilities in Mississippi to sell power to the Tennessee Valley Authority. (WCBI)
• An agriculture research facility at the University of Arkansas enters an agreement to source 80% of its power from solar. (Talk Business & Politics)
• A West Virginia solar company celebrates its expansion into the Virginia residential market. (WDBJ)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• More than 200,000 electric vehicles have now been registered in Texas. (KXAN)
• Experts offer advice for electric vehicle-driving Florida residents if the power goes out during hurricane season. (Palm Beach Post)
CLEAN ENERGY: Midway through 2023, clean energy and electric vehicle-related economic development projects account for the largest share of new jobs in Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA begins three days of hearings to gather public input on whether carbon capture injection wells should be regulated by the federal government or state of Louisiana. (The Advocate)
COAL: A federal judge says coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice must pay more than $400,000 in mine safety fine debt within 10 days after failing to make payments earlier this year. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
NUCLEAR: A company announces it will build an Alabama factory to make commercial-scale advanced microreactors. (Montgomery Advertiser)
UTILITIES: A New Orleans utility scales back plans to build a new electrical substation to modernize power for its sewer drainage pumps after receiving only a fraction of the state money needed to pay for the project. (NOLA.com)
BIOMASS: A company announces it’s received a permit from Kentucky to build a biomass plant fueled by distillery and brewery byproducts. (news release)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: Texas Bitcoin miners are dialing back operations amid high temperatures and the threat that skyrocketing demand could cripple the power grid, although the extent of their slowdown is unclear. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
COMMENTARY: The Port of Virginia makes progress toward its goal of becoming carbon-neutral — a daunting shift for such an energy-intensive operation, but necessary to slow climate change, writes an editorial board. (Virginian-Pilot)
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