Frustrated by lack of renewable energy, Louisiana companies find a workaround

SOLAR: Louisiana regulators approve a sleeved power purchase agreement to purchase power from non-utility sources for a coalition of 26 companies, including some of the state’s largest industrial giants, that have grown frustrated with the lack of renewables available from utilities. (Louisiana Illuminator)

ALSO:

• The owners of an dilapidated Oklahoma apartment announce plans to rebuild and add rooftop solar, with a dedicated solar fuel cell for each apartment. (Oklahoman)
• A Norwegian energy company announces plans to build a $620 million factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to make monocrystalline silicon wafers for the solar industry. (Journal Record)
• Virginia officials fine a solar company more than $100,000 for 75 violations that range from erosion control to not performing inspections at multiple solar farms in the state. (Farmville Herald)
• A group of churches partner with Entergy to build ​“community lighthouses” around New Orleans where solar panels charge backup batteries in case of power outages. (WVUE)
• An energy company introduces two models of a pre-constructed solar canopy at a Florida warehouse. (PV Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• An investigation reveals federal, state and local officials seem to have largely glossed over the water needs of Hyundai’s electric vehicle plant in Georgia, which now faces a potential legal challenge. (Savannah Morning News)
• Electric vehicle maker Rivian’s stock price rises 23% after this week’s announcement Volkswagen would invest up to $1 billion in the company. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

CLEAN ENERGY: Columbus, Georgia, business leaders say they’re building out the area’s higher education systems and freeing up land in hopes of taking part in the clean energy manufacturing boom that’s seen $32 billion invested in the state since 2021. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

OIL & GAS:

• Texas residents warily eye an oil and gas company’s proposal to build a pipeline to its planned liquified natural gas plant in Louisiana. (KBMT)
• Virginia residents organize against Dominion Energy’s plans to build a natural gas-fired power plant at an old coal plant. (WTVR)

HYDRO: A federal loan program provides $16.6 million for construction of the third of six planned hydroelectric plants in Kentucky, while a grant will fund solar power at a farm. (Kentucky Lantern)

GRID: A Virginia county supervisor proposes requiring new data centers to build on-site power to limit the use of eminent domain and construction of new transmission lines. (Loudoun Times-Mirror)

EMISSIONS: Researchers find plumes of toxic gas at the fenceline of some chemical plants in Louisiana’s ​“Cancer Alley” to be more than 1,000 times higher than what the U.S. EPA deems ​“an acceptable risk.” (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES:

• The Tennessee Valley Authority notifies a Mississippi utility it may sue over unresolved questions about its financial reports and audits. (South Reporter)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority considers what to do with an office complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

COAL: Businesses owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice reach a settlement with a Virginia bank over roughly $300 million in outstanding loans, but now face the prospect of the forced sale of a coal company to satisfy different debts. (Cardinal News, WV Metro News)

COMMENTARY: A college student interviews climate activist Bill McKibben about the campaign to push the Tennessee Valley Authority away from building new natural gas-fired power plants toward solar power. (Tennessean)