Duke Energy links NC customers to weatherization

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.

EFFICIENCY

• Duke Energy’s Customer Assistance Program automatically provides a monthly credit for households at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and for those who participated in certain federal aid programs, linking them with energy efficiency nonprofits that provide weatherization retrofits to lower their power costs. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The Trump administration’s immigration raid on Hyundai and LG Energy Solutions’ massive $12.6 billion EV and battery factory in Georgia is creating complicated politics for Gov. Brian Kemp and raising concerns from Korean companies that have invested in additional battery and auto parts factories across the state. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• A lawyer representing a dozen detained workers says his clients had valid work visas and were engineers and contractors there to install parts that American workers lacked the expertise to handle. (WRDW)

• U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem dismisses concerns that the raid will deter foreign investment, arguing it instead provides clarity about the Trump administration’s policies. (Associated Press)

• After years of accounting for over half of the U.S. EV market and reaching an 80% high, Tesla made up just 38% of total EV sales in August, marking an eight-year low as it shifts to building robotaxis and humanoid robots. (Reuters)

WIND

• Unnamed sources say Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has quietly — and so far successfully — lobbied the Trump administration not to target Dominion Energy’s vast offshore wind farm, which is expected to be operational by next year. (New York Times)

SOLAR

• Entergy asks Arkansas regulators to approve 600 MW of solar generation, a 350 MW battery storage project, and related transmission infrastructure to power a Google data center, just weeks after it received Louisiana’s approval to build three gas plants for a Meta data center. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration has taken sweeping action to hobble renewables and boost the oil and gas industry, temporarily staving off the transition from fossil fuels, but his shifting positions on trade and global oil trends have depressed prices and led to layoffs across the industry. (Wall Street Journal)

• Louisiana commercial fishermen ask a federal court to halt construction of the CP2 liquefied natural gas export terminal, saying it threatens their livelihoods. (E&E News)

• Entergy has proposed a $2.4 billion plan to build two gas-fired power plants in Texas, which could increase monthly bills for its ratepayers by $21.50 as critics argue the utility should consider more cost-effective options. (Houston Chronicle)

• Liquefied natural gas producer NextDecade announces it will build a fourth liquefaction plant on a larger gas export project in Texas. (Reuters)

• Virginia officials and residents speak out at an air permit hearing against Dominion Energy’s plans to build a gas-fired peaker plant on the site of a former coal-fired power plant. (Virginia Mercury)

• Virginia officials release a report acknowledging environmental justice concerns around Virginia Natural Gas’s plans to build a compressor station. (WHRO)

• New federal data shows that 10 counties in the Permian Basin were responsible for a 1.9 million-barrel-per-day increase in crude oil and lease condensate production between 2020 and 2024, and accounted for 37% of the country’s total oil production. (Houston Chronicle)

OVERSIGHT

• Climate and environmental groups try to motivate Georgia voters to participate in this fall’s election for two seats on the state board that regulates utilities. (WABE/​Grist)

DATA CENTERS

• Fermi America, founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, files for an IPO and details its plans to build a gas and nuclear facility and buy power from Southwestern Public Service to power one of the world’s largest data center complexes in Texas. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Mississippi regulators unanimously vote to fine a troubled municipal utility up to $12,500 per day as long as it continues to violate state law. (Mississippi Today)

COMMENTARY

• Trump’s attacks on renewables have killed $18.6 billion worth of clean energy projects in the last year at a time when data centers, artificial intelligence, and electric vehicles are driving up demand and bills, writes a columnist. (Houston Chronicle)

• Development of both fusion and small modular nuclear reactors will take another 10 to 15 years of development, creating a challenge for policymakers to meet rising power demand and bridge the gap in a clean, cost-effective way, writes a Democratic Virginia lawmaker from ​“Data Center Alley.” (Cardinal News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Tesla just launched the Megablock, a big, easy-to-deploy grid battery — Julian Spector

• Will this startup be the first to successfully scale up ocean power? — Julian Spector

• California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online — Maria Gallucci

• This startup says it can halve the cost of a heat pump — here’s how — Alison F. Takemura