Critics say tardy Louisiana report suggests mistakes in carbon capture rush

CARBON CAPTURE: Members of a Louisiana task force won’t discuss why the group is five months late issuing a report on the impacts of building out carbon capture, leading critics to charge that the state has embraced the fledgling industry without due diligence. (Floodlight)

OIL & GAS: Georgia regulators consider Georgia Power’s request to fast-track the construction of three natural gas-fired units at a power plant to meet escalating demand, which critics say perpetuates fossil fuels instead of advancing renewables. (Georgia Recorder)

TRANSITION: A Virginia community considers the future of a coal-fired power plant that was closed in 2015, hoping it could become a new home for a manufacturer but worried that renovation costs and the presence of coal ash on site could scuttle its potential for reuse. (Cardinal News)

OVERSIGHT: A Florida agency moves to repeal a rule requiring utilities to source 100% of their energy from renewables by 2050, as clean energy advocates consider a legal challenge. (E&E News, subscription)

COAL: The author of a recent report discusses why West Virginia’s reliance on fossil fuels is pushing up energy prices faster than the rate of inflation, while states that have more quickly deployed renewables are seeing lower rates of increase. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

SOLAR: A new report finds Georgia ranks behind only Florida in the Southeast for watts of solar electricity produced per customer, but warns data center growth could raise power demand and incentivize continued use of fossil fuels. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

STORAGE: An energy developer closes financing for three battery facilities in Texas totaling nearly 1 GW of energy storage. (Canary Media)

GRID: A company that makes steel poles used in the utility, transportation and renewable energy industries announces plans to build a $13.1 million fireproofing facility in Louisiana. (The Advocate)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Texas-based electric vehicle maker Tesla sees a 45% decline in revenue from a year ago as its EV sales fall 5%. (Houston Chronicle)

UTILITIES:

• Duke Energy reaches an agreement with Florida consumer advocates to cut its requested base rate hike in half, as well as to halt electricity shutoffs when temperatures rise to at least 95 degrees. (Tampa Bay Times)
• A new report says Georgia Power and a Dominion subsidiary in Virginia are positioned to benefit from the development of data centers, but also face credit risks unless safeguards are put into place. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE:

• Heat-related deaths during prolonged power outages after Hurricane Beryl have increased the number of storm-related fatalities in Texas to at least 23. (Associated Press)
• A new study uses climate-analog mapping to predict that coastal Virginia will feel more like southern Louisiana by 2080. (Virginian-Pilot)

POLITICS:

• West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin makes a last ditch push for energy permitting reform with legislation that also mandates some onshore oil and gas lease sales and lifts a pause on liquefied natural gas export approvals. (Utility Dive)
• West Virginia leads an effort of 24 Republican attorneys general to have the U.S. Supreme Court intervene to block the U.S. EPA’s new power plant emission rules. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY:

• Oil and gas drillers in the Permian Basin should use recycled wastewater for fracking rather than using fresh water, which draws down the region’s aquifers by roughly three million barrels a day, writes a journalist. (Texas Monthly)
• Amazon’s claim that it’s achieved 100% renewable energy seven years ahead of schedule obscures the fact that power demand from its Virginia data centers well outstrips the capacity of its 19 solar farms in the state, writes an energy columnist. (Virginia Mercury)