Battery company will expand South Carolina factory

STORAGE: An electric vehicle battery company announces an $810 million expansion of its South Carolina factory to supply a nearby BMW plant, with the state contributing $121 million in financial assistance. (SC Now, The State)

ALSO: A North Carolina-based lithium company aims to become a global leader in the electric vehicle supply chain, beginning by reopening an open-pit mine that was a major lithium producer until it closed in 1988. (WFAE)

OIL & GAS: A Louisiana judge issues a protective order to shield the details of settlements between BP, Hilcorp and Shell with parish and state governments involving a coastal damages lawsuit purportedly worth up to $7 billion. (NOLA.com)

GRID:

• The Supreme Court refuses to hear a request to uphold a Texas law granting utilities first rights to build transmission, casting doubt on similar laws in other states. (E&E News)
• Recovery continues in middle Tennessee, where tornadoes killed at least six people and destroyed 12 high voltage transmission lines over the weekend. (Tennessean, WPLN, WRCB)
• Grid officials discuss reliability challenges with West Virginia lawmakers, who come away from the hearing with the sense that renewables can’t fully replace coal for baseload power. (WV Metro News)
• Texas grid officials and state regulators send mixed messages about the grid’s preparedness for winter, with some downplaying the chance of outages and others publicly worrying about what might happen if there’s a big storm. (Houston Chronicle)
• Grid operator PJM awards nearly $800 million to FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries for transmission projects in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Duke Energy delays a North Carolina pilot program to test the use of electric vehicle batteries to power the electric grid until 2025. (WFAE)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves a construction permit for a 35 MW demonstration nuclear reactor in Tennessee. (Oak Ridge Today)

COAL ASH: A Tennessee county will fund a historical marker to honor the memory of workers who cleaned up the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 2008 Kingston coal ash spill, some of whom have since died. (Citizen Tribune)

CLIMATE: Charlotte, North Carolina, inches toward its climate goals by adding rooftop solar panels, improving energy efficiency and planning two solar farms, but will likely fall short of plans to eliminate all use of fossil fuels in city buildings and vehicles by 2030. (WFAE)

UTILITIES:

• A Louisiana electric cooperative asks state regulators for an immediate 12% base rate increase after a cost-of-service study reveals its equity has declined since 2019. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• Property owners around a Virginia lake managed by Appalachian Power seek public input on the utility’s shoreline development plan. (Roanoke Times)
• Nonprofit groups announce a ​“people’s hearing” after the Tennessee Valley Authority fails to respond to their request for more information and transparency about its long-term energy plans. (news release)

COMMENTARY: Duke Energy’s plan to build more natural gas-fired power plants to meet North Carolina’s emission reduction goals will raise customers’ bills without actually helping reduce pollution, writes a climate activist. (Environmental Defense Fund)