Georgia Power may be hiding its gas plans, critics warn

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FOSSIL FUELS

• Georgia Power has publicly identified only 517 MW of projects toward the 9.5 GW it says it needs to build by 2031, fueling concerns the utility may be gearing up to build a slew of gas-fired power plants without giving utility regulators much time to deliberate or the public time to respond. (Canary Media)

• West Virginia U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito presses Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore funding to an agency responsible for supporting coal miners’ health, while fellow U.S. Sen. Jim Justice has called the cuts ​“problematic.” (West Virginia Watch, Axios)

• Seven of the 17 gas-fired power projects deemed eligible for Texas-backed, low-interest loans have since withdrawn or been ruled ineligible, illustrating the difficulty of building such plants as quickly as officials want. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• Korean energy companies anticipate Trump’s tariffs on southeastern Asian countries will give them a competitive advantage against Chinese-made equipment as companies like Hanwha Solution invest in U.S. projects like a complete solar panel production chain in Georgia. (Korea Herald)

• A Tennessee municipal utility board votes to enter into an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority to obtain solar power after a local county board significantly tightened solar farm regulation last year. (Greeneville Sun)

NUCLEAR

• Texas lawmakers advance legislation to create a $750 million grant program to attract nuclear power developers, along with a proposed state constitutional amendment that could boost the fund by $2 billion. (Dallas Morning News)

BIOGAS

• Florida lawmakers advance legislation to allow utilities to request cost recovery for investing in renewable natural gas projects, though critics worry the measure will drive up energy bills. (Florida Politics)

OVERSIGHT

• A Virginia county nears completion of its first zoning overhaul since the code was first adopted in 1991, during which time it’s seen significant growth and proposals to build battery storage facilities, solar projects, and data centers. (Cardinal News)

UTILITIES

• Tennessee U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty points to brownouts during 2022’s Winter Storm Elliot as evidence the Tennessee Valley Authority isn’t keeping up with power demand and is therefore limiting economic development in Tennessee. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

EMISSIONS

• As the Trump administration moves to slash environmental regulations, a new study finds 46% of Americans breathe air with unhealthy levels of pollution, including in Atlanta, Georgia, and Louisville, Kentucky. (New York Times, Georgia Recorder, Kentucky Lantern)

COMMENTARY

• Texas should embrace data centers for their potential to support the grid by leveraging onsite batteries, diesel generators, natural gas systems, or even small modular reactors during times of high energy demand, write the CEO of an energy company and an analyst at a nonprofit group. (Utility Dive)