FERC: MVP’s Southgate spur likely unnecessary

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.

PIPELINES

• A report by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff finds Mountain Valley Pipeline’s proposed Southgate spur from Virginia into North Carolina won’t significantly affect environmental quality, but could be redundant with the Williams Companies’ Southeast Supply Enhancement project to expand its Transco pipeline. (NC Newsline)

FEDERAL ACTION

• The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to cut yet more federal clean energy funding, including funding for the ARCH 2 Appalachian hydrogen hub, though the Energy Department denies it’s made a final decision yet. (E&E News)

• The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal utility, will keep running despite the shutdown of the federal government because it’s largely funded by ratepayers instead of congressional appropriations. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

STORAGE

• A Kentucky hospital and other facilities around the U.S. are using tanks of ice to provide emission-free air conditioning, reduce electricity usage, and reduce demand on the power grid. (Associated Press)

• Nightpeak Energy’s 150 MW Baconova Power energy storage project uses Tesla’s Megapack 2 XL batteries to provide power to the Texas grid during times of peak demand. (Houston Chronicle)

WIND

• A new report projects the wind manufacturing industry could provide an estimated 22,000 jobs in Appalachian Kentucky and neighboring states. (WUKY)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Commonwealth LNG asks federal regulators for a four-year extension to complete its liquified natural gas export facility in Louisiana, blaming the delay on a regulatory pause under the Biden administration as it tries to find enough customers to meet its planned capacity. (Reuters)

• Despite lower oil prices and federal warnings that domestic production may drop as a result, oil drillers in the Permian Basin are producing near-record levels of oil so far this year. (E&E News)

• The Energy Planning and Inventory Commission — a body created by Kentucky lawmakers to review utility requests to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants — announces it’s appointed a University of Kentucky executive as its executive director. (Kentucky Lantern)

• West Virginia officials praise the Trump administration’s plan to invest more than $600 million into coal-fired power plants, despite recent statements from utilities that they don’t plan to build any new coal generation. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

• Renewables surpassed coal for global energy production for the first half of 2025, the first time that’s happened. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• EV parts supplier OP Mobility announces it will permanently lay off 82 workers from its Tennessee factory just a year after it announced a $3 million expansion. (WKRN)

• Georgia withdraws its attempts to recoup its legal fees from a group of state landowners who sued to block construction of Rivian’s electric vehicle factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

UTILITIES

• Virginia launches an online platform to connect ratepayers with tax credits, loans, direct assistance, and other tools to help lower their power bills. (WHRO)

SOLAR

• Environmental groups in Georgia join a lawsuit against the Trump administration for rolling back the U.S. EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program, which included a $156 million grant for a Georgia program to build rooftop solar on lower-income households. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

RENEWABLES

• An analysis finds Oklahoma and Texas are among 13 states that draw higher-than-average shares of their power from wind and solar, had below-average power prices, and voted for Trump in 2024 despite his promise to ​“get rid of the falsely named renewables” and push for more fossil fuels. (Politico)

BIOFUELS

• Carolina Renewable Products announces plans to open a $280 million wood biomass-to-diesel facility in South Carolina next year. (South Carolina Public Radio)

NUCLEAR

• The Tennessee Valley Authority names Matt Rasmussen as its new chief nuclear officer after several retirements leave key vacancies on its executive team. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Solar is crushing gas power in California this year — Julian Spector

• Why did Newsom veto California’s virtual power plant bills? — Jeff St. John

• Community solar set to struggle amid federal and state headwinds — Alison F. Takemura

• New England’s final coal plant shuts down years ahead of schedule — Sarah Shemkus