Duke Energy wants to delay N.C. climate goals for natural gas

UTILITIES: Duke Energy wants to scuttle a 2030 climate target in North Carolina, add some renewables and build two new ​“hydrogen-capable” natural gas plants due to a surge in demand driven by economic development projects — including companies seeking a clean energy supply. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:

• Duke Energy’s plan to meet North Carolina’s growing power demand also includes a proposal to build three small modular nuclear reactors over the next decade. (NC Newsline)
• Today marks the two-year anniversary of Duke Energy’s coal ash spill in North Carolina, which comes as the utility now seeks to close up its coal ash storage pits and shift to natural gas-fired power. (WXII, WRAL)

PIPELINES:

• Pipeline giant Williams is expected to propose a sizable buildout of its sprawling Transcontinental pipeline to ​“provide reliable natural gas deliveries” to Alabama, the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia. (E&E News)
• Two Mountain Valley Pipeline protestors are arrested in Virginia after one locked herself to a company helicopter, while other protestors gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, to rail against banks’ support of the project. (WSLS, WSOC)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:

• A judge’s order to tear down an 84-turbine wind farm that trespassed on Osage Nation land for more than a decade stands as an example how developers who ignore Indigenous rights are increasingly facing potential delays and fines. (Grist)
• The U.S. EPA responds to Dallas activists by launching a pilot program to study how pollution from industrial sites such as concrete batch plants can affect public health in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods. (Texas Tribune)

STORAGE: Texas regulators reject a proposal to require batteries to maintain a certain state of charge, noting there’s no similar penalty for gas or coal projects and expressing concern the rule would slow the addition of battery resources to the grid. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:

• Duke Energy tests a project to float solar arrays on retention ponds in Florida. (WZVN)
• A Virginia school district plans a pilot project at a high school to install a solar array and provide workforce training for students. (Cardinal News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Texas electric vehicle advocates show off electric vehicles and pitch local officials on grants and resources to support charging infrastructure as they end a three-day tour. (Longview News-Journal, KTAL/KMSS)

CARBON CAPTURE: West Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to shift the permitting of underground injection wells for carbon capture from the U.S. EPA to the state. (WV News)

OIL & GAS: South Carolina’s natural gas industry holds its first summit to spotlight the fuel as an economic driver. (Columbia Star)

HYDROGEN: A Virginia county approves a company’s plan to build a combination data center and hydrogen fuel hub next to a Dominion Energy nuclear plant. (Smithfield Times)

COMMENTARY: The standoff involving record numbers of immigrants at the Texas border has been fueled largely by a climate crisis that Republicans have exacerbated through their support of fossil fuels, writes a journalist and community organizer. (Deceleration)