Duke to build solar-powered hydrogen project in Florida

HYDROGEN: Duke Energy says it will build a solar-powered electrolysis system to produce, store and combust 100% green hydrogen in Florida. (Reuters)

ALSO:

• A shareholder advisory group warns that ​“blue” hydrogen projects fueled by methane pose a ​“significant risk” for becoming stranded assets. (Gazette-Mail)
• Even the most prominent supporters of a federally funded Appalachian hydrogen hub say they can’t yet say exactly what it will be like. (WV MetroNews)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• Virginia officials celebrate the arrival of football field-length steel tubes that will serve as foundations for eight offshore wind turbine towers. (Virginian-Pilot)
• The Biden administration designates four tracts of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas and Louisiana coasts for wind energy development. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:

• Solar advocates in southwestern Virginia and other coal-rich, politically conservative areas are successfully growing local support for solar. (Grist)
• A Louisiana parish considers new restrictions on solar farms that would be tougher than those for industrial plants and tank farms. (The Advocate)
• A Virginia county plans a public hearing on a proposal to regulate solar projects, including buffers and farm-land preservation measures. (Daily Press)
• West Virginia regulators approve a 100 MW solar project in Mason County. (WV News)

UTILITIES:

• Georgia’s largest utility asks regulators to allow it to burn more fossil fuels to meet rising electricity demand, while critics say it needs to do more to reduce carbon emissions. (Associated Press)
• Almost a year after a Christmas weekend power failure left thousands of Nashville residents in the cold and dark, utility officials say they are better prepared today for another extreme cold snap or heat wave. (Tennessean)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A Texas agency has stopped participating in negotiations with the U.S. EPA over complaints that its decisions on pollution have been racially discriminatory. (Center for Public Integrity)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A Duke Energy spokesperson explains how the utility is working to prepare its grid for a growing number of electric vehicles in North Carolina. (WWAY)
• Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian launches an apprenticeship program in Georgia to train future plant staff. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)
• A Miami-Dade County fire official says he’s never seen an electric vehicle cause a house fire and that charging is safe with the proper setup. (NBC Miami)

RENEWABLES: A new federal tax credit program could help nonprofits and local governments build small renewable energy projects in eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. (Kentucky Lantern)

COAL: An Alabama coal plant once again ranks as the country’s single largest greenhouse gas polluter, according to new U.S. EPA data. (Inside Climate News)

EMISSIONS: A Virginia judge considers whether to dismiss a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s attempt to remove the state from a regional carbon market. (Virginia Mercury)

PIPELINES: A federal appeals court declines to issue an emergency injunction to suspend construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia. (WDBJ)

BIOFUELS: A University of Georgia research professor explores the potential of switchgrass as a feedstock for cleaner jet engine fuel. (Augusta Chronicle)

CLIMATE: Metro Atlanta leaders and federal officials meet to discuss the need to capitalize on federal funding to prepare the sprawling region for a hotter future. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

POLITICS: The federal Inflation Reduction Act has spurred billions of dollars in investment in North Carolina and Georgia, where even Republicans have embraced the clean energy jobs boom. (E&E News)

INNOVATION: Critics say a new Institute for Energy Innovation at Louisiana State University is ​“a public relations effort” to help prop up the state’s oil industry in the face of climate change. (Floodlight/​Louisiana Illuminator)

COMMENTARY: An energy policy specialist with a consumer advocacy group says Austin must try again to shut down its coal-burning power plant. (Austin American-Statesman)