Arkansas lawmakers advance wind regulations

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WIND

• Arkansas lawmakers advance a bill to establish a regulatory framework for wind energy projects that would establish minimum state standards for environmental reviews, decommissioning, and other factors, while also giving localities more ability to set their own regulations. (Arkansas Times)

• Experts say former coal-producing Appalachian communities can become manufacturing hubs for the wind energy industry because of their workforce, access to transportation routes, and availability of rare earth minerals found in coal ash deposits. (Public News Service)

SOLAR

• Appalachian Power proposes a minimum amount to charge customers for its developing community solar program in Virginia, while fellow utility Dominion Energy has struggled with a similar program since launching it in 2020. (Cardinal News)

RENEWABLES

• A Texas lawmaker introduces legislation to impose restrictions on wind, solar, and battery storage by adding new administrative rules, fees, and a requirement the Texas Public Utility Commission approve any projects before they begin construction. (Texas Tribune)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration has fast-tracked a handful of approvals for liquified natural gas export terminals on the Gulf Coast, but companies have delayed construction due to rising costs, labor issues and difficulty securing customers. (E&E News)

• A Louisiana jury rules Chevron must pay $744.6 million to restore coastal wetlands in the first of a series of legal cases against oil and gas companies for their part in accelerating coastal land loss. (Associated Press)

• West Virginia lawmakers advance a resolution to require state agencies to ​“fully develop coal production and in-state coal consumption” by finding ways to push new coal-fired power plants despite their economic downsides. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

• A company’s plans to build a gas-fired power plant in Texas lead to controversy after residents learn the plant won’t be rebuilt at the site of a former coal plant but instead at a different location 15 miles away. (Houston Chronicle)

• Florida residents expressed mixed feelings about Belvedere Terminals’ proposal to build a fuel terminal in Palm Coast after canceling plans for a terminal in Ormond Beach due to residents’ opposition. (Spectrum News)

NUCLEAR

• A Texas company showcases its 50 MW modular nuclear reactor designed for powering data centers and an accompanying factory intended to produce dozens of reactors annually. (KXAN)

GRID

• Duke Energy restores power to more than 70,000 customers affected by severe weather and flooding last week in Kentucky and Ohio. (Northern Kentucky Tribune)

• LS Power considers selling power from its Virginia gas-fired power plant to a planned 300 MW data center nearby. (Utility Dive)

• The U.S. Department of Energy includes the 562-acre Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee on a list of 16 federal sites that could host artificial intelligence data centers. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

EMISSIONS

• More than 60 scientists sign a letter calling on North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein to publicly oppose Duke Energy’s plan to extend the life of its coal plants and to build new gas-fired power plants. (WRAL)

TARIFFS

• Experts say the growing trade war between the U.S. and China could reroute liquified natural gas trade routes in ways that could potentially benefit coal and renewables while threatening Trump’s goal of boosting oil and gas. (E&E News)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• President Trump’s tariffs likely won’t harm the solar and wind industries as much as battery and EV makers, but the cleantech industry will still suffer and energy infrastructure will get harder to build, experts tell Jeff St. John.

• Southern California regulators consider new rules to clean the region’s smog-filled air, but stop short of mandating heat pumps and banning appliances that emit nitrogen oxides, Alison Takemura reports.