Georgia researchers develop silicon alternatives for solar supply chain

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SOLAR

• Georgia Tech researchers experiment with different compounds to make alternatives to silicon-based solar chips and build out a solar manufacturing industry to compete with China. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• A study suggests four Virginia solar projects totaling 682 MW may need to be delayed because an existing transmission line can’t handle the load and a larger one needs to be built. (Cardinal News)

RENEWABLES

• Texas experts say wind energy has strengthened the statewide power grid and along with solar pushed down prices by about $11 billion in 2022 alone, debunking Trump officials’ claims that renewables are driving up costs and destabilizing the grid. (Houston Chronicle)

• Wind energy and tech company-driven solar projects are taking root across Arkansas despite opposition from Trump and Republican state lawmakers. (Arkansas Business)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A Texas family tries to find help for a rapidly growing sinkhole around a 1950s-era oil well, but because the well was previously plugged and there’s no active operator, state officials have declined to step in. (Inside Climate News)

• The head of the company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline calls for construction of more pipelines to meet global demand for natural gas. (Reuters)

• Liquefied natural gas producer Cheniere announces it will use power from the Texas grid to power some of its operations despite concerns about grid stability. (Reuters)

GRID

• Georgia regulators gear up to hear testimony in Georgia Power’s long-term plans, which project load-growth of 8,200 MW by 2030 due to data centers. (Georgia Recorder)

• Kentucky’s attorney general and state regulators complain to federal regulators that state residents have paid at least $75 million since 2019 for transmission projects built in six other states under American Electric Power’s cost allocation framework. (Utility Dive)

• Northern Virginia residents who have been saturated with data center development tell southern Virginia communities now considering such projects to ask questions and demand they be properly zoned. (Cardinal News)

• Widespread tornadoes knocked out power to 52,000 Alabama households over the weekend. (AL.com)

HYDROGEN

• A nonprofit Texas research institute announces it’s developed a carbon-free, hydrogen-fueled engine to power a commercial truck, but the lack of hydrogen pumps and other infrastructure could stymie the technology’s spread. (San Antonio Report)

CARBON CAPTURE

• A Thai mining company trying to pivot from coal announces it will operate a carbon capture and storage facility in Texas beginning next year. (Nikkei Asia)

CLIMATE

• Eleven Virginia counties that were decimated by flooding last month still await a requested disaster declaration from Trump. (Cardinal News)

COMMENTARY

• Oil producers are projecting an optimistic attitude after Trump’s election and appointment of industry insiders, but privately are concerned about his push for lower prices and the potential of a trade war-induced recession, writes an opinion columnist. (Bloomberg)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Ohio’s Supreme Court considers whether a rejection for a rural solar project has​“essentially rewritten” state law to give local governments veto power over clean energy projects, Kathiann Kowalski reports.

• California introduces the first statewide plan to boost heat pump sales as it aims to deploy 6 million of the electric appliances by 2030, Alison Takemura reports.