Clean cement startups move forward despite Trump cuts

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

BUILDINGS

• Low-carbon cement startup Sublime completes a ​“pilot pour” of its fossil-fuel-free product at a Virginia data center campus as the tech sector moves to decarbonize even as the Trump administration guts support for cleaner construction materials. (Canary Media)

SOLAR

• Ohm Analytics projects Americans will install a third less rooftop solar with Trump’s repeal of federal incentives, though many homeowners are moving to fast-track purchases before a key tax credit expires at the end of 2025. (Canary Media)

• The Trump administration’s cancellation of the U.S. EPA’s Solar for All program could mean the loss of $400 million to expand solar in Texas, $156 million in North Carolina, and $106 million in West Virginia. (Houston Chronicle, Inside Climate News, WV News)

• Clean energy advocates in North Carolina, Georgia, and elsewhere grapple with complications from the rollback of federal funding in Trump’s ​“One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” (Grist)

• Invenergy holds a public meeting on its plans for a 300 MW solar farm in Arkansas. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

STORAGE

• Texas regulators decide to keep the minimum required duration for non-spin reserve resources at four hours despite an independent monitor’s recommendation it be reduced to one hour, which benefits gas peaker plants but could push some battery developers out of the market. (Utility Dive)

• Galveston, Texas, city commissioners approve guidelines and a new zoning designation for battery storage systems as the city sees a growing number of applications for such projects. (Galveston County Daily News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Energy Transfer LP proposes a plan to build a $5.3 billion gas pipeline from the Permian Basin to markets in New Mexico and Arizona that will involve the construction of more than 500 miles of 42-inch pipe. (Bloomberg, KJZZ)

• West Virginia families sue Appalachian gas producer EQT over the operation of fracking gas wells and a compressor station they say released pollutants that made their children sick. (Pittsburgh’s Public Source, West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

• Virginia residents express concern about environmental impacts and fluctuating fuel costs to state regulators during a hearing on Dominion Energy’s proposed gas-fired power plant ahead of a two-month public comment period. (WTVR)

NUCLEAR

• The University of South Carolina Aiken cuts the ribbon on a $66 million research center for nuclear scientists to partner with business leaders on manufacturing. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)

OVERSIGHT

• Republican North Carolina lawmakers override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto to approve a law requiring any rule or regulation that will cost more than $20 million over five years to receive legislative approval, which opponents argue will make regulating pollution much more difficult. (Carolina Public Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The Little Rock, Arkansas, school district rolls out a fleet of 25 electric school buses funded through a $10 million grant from the U.S. EPA. (KARK)

• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joins a multi-state lawsuit to force the Trump administration to unfreeze $5 billion in federal funding for electric vehicle chargers. (Kentucky Lantern)

UTILITIES

• The Tennessee Valley Authority raises $5.8 billion from the sale of bonds over the past year to refinance debt and support construction of new power plants. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

CLIMATE

• A Texas authority that sells insurance to coastal property owners who can’t buy it on the private market agrees to freeze its rates in 2026, which will leave it with $2.5 billion less to pay claims and could threaten payouts to policyholders. (E&E News)

• Texas lawmakers discuss bills filed in response to last month’s deadly flooding, including proposals to require flood disaster plans for vulnerable camps and establish a licensing requirement for emergency management coordinators. (Texas Tribune)

• Texas residents and businesses affected by last month’s flooding have until Sept. 4 to apply for federal assistance. (Houston Chronicle)