Advocates hail Virginia compromise to boost energy efficiency

EFFICIENCY: Advocates laud a new Virginia law that strengthens energy efficiency standards and mandates the development of a standardized test to measure the cost effectiveness of any proposed efficiency program. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: Kentucky faces the prospect of losing an aluminum smelter project — and 1,000 jobs that go with it — to another state if it can’t access enough clean energy, even as state lawmakers go to bat to keep coal-fired power plants open. (Louisville Courier Journal)

OIL & GAS:

• Texas regulators finalize rules to reimburse companies for part of the cost to build natural gas-fired power plants in the next several years. (Dallas Morning News)
• As the oil and gas industry looks for a better way to dispose of oilfield wastewater, a Texas company applies for a state permit to discharge up to 840,000 gallons per day into a waterway that eventually flows into the Pecos River. (Inside Climate News)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin points to Google’s $1 billion data center plans as reason to back his ​“all of the above” energy plan that includes small nuclear reactors and a Dominion Energy natural gas plant. (Virginia Business, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

GEOTHERMAL: An Austin, Texas company uses software and sensor-equipped drilling tools to install geothermal heating and cooling systems in spaces previously considered too small to house such projects. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Officials with electric vehicle maker Rivian reiterate their commitment to build a factory in Georgia despite recent financial troubles and a renewed focus on its existing Illinois plant. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)

SOLAR:

• A Vietnamese company announces it will build a solar panel and cell factory in North Carolina. (Renewables Now)
• A 150 MW solar facility in Kentucky will provide power for Wake Forest and Elon universities, and seven other colleges and universities in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. (Winston-Salem Journal)

WIND: A new report lays out benefits for Louisiana from building out offshore wind farms. (news release)

COAL: An Alabama community organizes against a longwall mining operation that one family has sued over a fatal explosion it alleges was caused by methane leaks from a ​“gassy” coal seam. (Inside Climate News)

POLITICS: Kentucky lawmakers directed an additional $3 million to the state attorney general’s office to create an ​“electric reliability defense program” that involves leading and joining lawsuits with other Republicans to block federal environmental rules. (Kentucky Lantern)

CLIMATE:

• The Southeast faces one of the most rapid sea level surges in the world, combining with increasingly severe storms to create epic floods. (Washington Post)
• Tornadoes strike Oklahoma, leaving at least four people dead, 100 injured and 31,000 homes without power. (Oklahoman, Associated Press)
• A meteorologist says climate change will result in more milder winters, more flooding, and severe heat and humidity in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COMMENTARY:

• An energy columnist argues Virginia can still attain its clean energy goals if it pushes data centers to pay their own way, makes building solar easier, stops utilities from building more fossil fuel plants, and emphasizes energy efficiency. (Virginia Mercury)
• Plans to drill for oil in Florida’s Apalachicola River system would needlessly spoil ​“the crown jewel of this state’s natural resources,” writes a retired scientist. (Tallahassee Democrat)