SOLAR: Texas’ rapid solar additions position it to surpass California this May as the top state for utility-scale solar capacity. (Canary Media)
ALSO:
• A Texas community has been relatively slow to adopt solar power despite a high rate of homeownership, likely because solar installers find its township rules and rigorous review process daunting. (Conroe Courier)
• A renewables company plans a 112 MW solar farm in Mississippi. (WLOX)
• Entergy signs an agreement to purchase power from a planned 150 MW Texas solar farm. (news release)
• A Virginia school system partners with a company to install solar systems at 12 schools. (news release)
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OIL & GAS: Louisiana’s three liquified natural gas terminals exported more than 2.45 trillion cubic feet in 2022, pushing the United States’ overall output well above 2021 levels. (The Advocate)
STORAGE: Piedmont Lithium picks up a $75 million investment from South Korean battery maker LG Chem to support its planned $600 million lithium hydroxide plant in Tennessee. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
CARBON CAPTURE: A Houston company announces plans to build a geothermal-powered direct-air carbon capture plant. (Washington Post)
WIND: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says Louisiana is ready to jump into the offshore wind industry, including the incorporation of floating turbine technology. (WVLA, E&E News)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Black women, especially mothers, have become leaders in efforts in Memphis, Tennessee, to treat and protect people in vulnerable neighborhoods from toxic effects of the city’s chemical plants. (The 19th)
TRANSITION:
• An energy company announces it will convert a Texas coal plant to natural gas by 2025. (KFDA)
• A West Virginia county anticipates two company’s plans for coal waste, including a coal-to-carbon processing plant and technology that extracts rare earth minerals. (Beckley Register-Herald)
UTILITIES:
• Louisville Gas and Electric and Duke Energy fight Kentucky legislation giving state utility regulators the authority to approve or deny the retirement of a fossil-fuel generating unit. (WKMS)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board announces plans for a comprehensive economic study of how to accelerate its territory’s clean-energy economy. (American Public Power Association)
• Florida lawmakers grill officials from Gainesville Regional Utilities over rising debt levels, high bills and a 20-year solar contract that lets Gainesville purchase power at an undisclosed cost. (Gainesville Sun)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: Texas Bitcoin miners claim their operations are boosting the state power grid since they can adjust operations according to the real-time availability of cheap renewable energy. (S&P Global)
POLITICS:
• West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill to require state ratepayers to pick up the full cost of power plants when regulators in other jurisdictions require a plant to stop operating. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, subscription)
• Kentucky lawmakers advance legislation to restrict state investment managers from consideration of environmental or sustainability factors in investment decisions. (WKYU)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Arkansas electric vehicle company announces it will provide electric vehicles for showrooms in across Southeast states as part of its partnership with another Arkansas EV company. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
COMMENTARY: Southern Company’s steady stream of cost overruns and delays at Plant Vogtle will likely curb enthusiasm for new nuclear power development, writes an investment advisor. (Forbes)
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