Crypto-mining brings noise, pollution to rural areas

POLLUTION: Critics say crypto-mining operations are extending the lives of older, dirtier power plants in rural areas and failing to deliver jobs or economic development benefits promised in exchange for cheap power and tax breaks. (Daily Yonder)

ALSO: A Kentucky crypto-currency data center uses 10 times more electricity than the local utility’s second largest customer and emits a constant, high-pitched noise that neighbors compare to cicadas. (Kentucky Lantern)

UTILITIES: Louisiana regulators slam Entergy’s latest long-range resource plan as ​“incomplete,” saying it fails to consider how new transmission could benefit its system or how to fund new renewable projects. (Business Report)

BIOMASS: A wood pellet producer is seeking millions in federal climate funding to build a new plant in Alabama, but critics say it won’t help reduce emissions. (AL.com)

NUCLEAR: Georgia Power and an electricity wholesaler agree to settle a legal dispute over cost overruns for the Plant Vogtle nuclear power project. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

STORAGE: Electric co-ops in Virginia and South Carolina will use federal funds to test long-duration vanadium flow batteries. (Virginia Mercury, Newberry Observer)

SOLAR:

• At a Virginia solar farm, grazing sheep help keep vegetation from obstructing panels and provide revenue for local farmers. (Times-Dispatch)
• A South Carolina county approves a new solar ordinance that increases setback distances from neighboring properties and requires liability coverage for damage to adjacent properties. (Times and Democrat)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A west Texas electric vehicle caravan highlights the growth of EVs in the state — and the need to build out more charging infrastructure. (Reporter-Telegram)
• A Texas school district purchases nine Tesla vehicles for its school police officers to drive, saying they were the most cost-effective option. (Austin American-Statesman)

COAL: West Virginia University researchers explore the potential of a type of grass to restore soil health on former coal mining sites. (Times West Virginian)

PIPELINES: A Mountain Valley Pipeline protester was arrested Saturday for blocking construction of the project in Virginia’s Jefferson National Forest. (WSLS-TV)

FINANCING: A second Florida county sends a cease-and-desist letter to a Florida PACE agency, alleging it isn’t authorized to finance local clean energy projects. (Naples Daily News)

COMMENTARY:

• A South Carolina state lawmaker says federal permitting reform would strengthen the state’s offshore wind energy supply chain. (Post & Courier)
• Louisiana regulators are standing in the way of common sense grid expansion projects that would improve reliability and reduce costs, a consultant writes. (The Lens)