Gas to fuel TVA’s 6.2 GW build-out

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.

UTILITIES

• The Tennessee Valley Authority aims to build a massive 6.2 GW of new electricity generation, including several gas plants, to keep up with rising demand spurred by data centers and population growth. (Utility Dive)
• Kentucky lawmakers advance a bipartisan bill to block utility cutoffs during extreme hot or cold temperatures. (WKYT)
• Kentucky’s Republican attorney general urges state regulators to reject a rate hike for Kentucky Power due in part to a backlash from residents at public meetings. (Kentucky Lantern)

STORAGE

• Kentucky’s economic development chief tells state lawmakers he’ll hold Ford to its promise to create jobs at a factory that’s now being retooled to make grid-scale batteries instead of electric vehicle batteries, or the state will claw back $250 million in incentives. (Kentucky Lantern)
• A Texas county board prepares to vote next week on whether to pause Taaleri Energia’s construction of a lithium battery storage project until the state attorney general weighs in on whether it’s using prohibited technology. (KETK)

WIND

• The 300 MW Prairie Hill Wind Farm in Texas begins to decommission and demolish 100 wind turbines, and replace them with 63 newer models that will generate the same capacity. (Waco Tribune-Herald)

GRID

• New federal rules have improved transmission planning and development in the U.S. in recent years, a new report finds, although Texas and the Southeast are still underperforming. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR

• Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to prohibit blanket local bans of solar development while laying out site requirements intended to allay the concerns of local governments. (Inside Climate News)
• Virginia regulators shift their methodology around a minimum bill structure for community solar projects, establishing a $55 minimum bill instead of adding it as an additional fee on top of electricity costs. (WHRO)
• A Virginia county’s approval of a 2 MW solar farm on a former landfill is an example of how solar-friendly communities are increasingly identifying landfills as appropriate sites for solar energy facilities. (Utility Dive)

FOSSIL FUELS

• An initial assessment of data from a methane-detecting satellite reveals that emissions from oil and gas facilities around the world far exceed what is reported in official inventories, with the Permian Basin responsible for the highest emissions. (Inside Climate News)
• A judge declares Texas’ 2021 law prohibiting the state from doing business with firms found to be boycotting fossil fuels is ​“facially overbroad” and unconstitutional. (Texas Tribune)
• Louisiana advocacy groups say this week’s explosion of a pipeline demonstrates the need to expand community air monitoring, as a nearby monitor tracked a sharp spike in particulate matter and volatile organic compounds hours after the incident. (Louisiana Illuminator)

NUCLEAR

• Dominion Energy plans to ship nuclear waste from a Virginia plant by rail to Idaho National Laboratory, potentially offering a public demonstration that the federal government and private industry can safely manage nuclear waste transportation. (E&E News)
• Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee proposes adding $25 million to the state’s nuclear development fund to support companies investing in related projects. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• A North Carolina legislative commission meets for the first time in two years to discuss expanding nuclear power as Duke Energy considers the energy source as a possible replacement for coal plants it plans to retire. (WFAE)

BIOMASS

• Advocates debate the United Kingdom’s use of wood pellets as a replacement for coal, as it still generates carbon emissions and creates additional pollution issues in Louisiana and Mississippi communities where the pellets are processed. (Grist)

DATA CENTERS

• Georgia lawmakers debate new regulations involving data centers, including a bill to require Georgia Power to charge data centers for any costs ​“substantially” related to their power needs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Seven South Carolina lawmakers protest a $6 billion, 1 GW data center as the legislature mulls how to regulate the industry. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)
• Filings with the state reveal Google’s plans to invest at least $3 billion to build three data centers and three electrical substations in western Virginia. (Virginia Business)

NEW FROM CANARY

• What’s driving up Maine’s energy bills? Natural gas. — Sarah Shemkus
• Chart: Surprise — batteries got cheaper again last year — Dan McCarthy
• In U-turn, Trump approves low-income energy-assistance funds — Alison F. Takemura
• Are faked public comments about to tank an Ohio solar farm? — Kathiann M. Kowalski
• Massachusetts scrutinizes pipeline-safety program as gas bills spike — Sarah Shemkus
• Missouri Senate considers bills to halt solar development on farmland — Rudi Keller
• Lunar Energy lands $232M to boost smart home batteries — Jeff St. John