Gulf Coast gears up for more oil drilling, exports under Trump

OIL & GAS: Louisiana’s oil and gas industry anticipates that Donald Trump’s presidential victory means new drilling leases and the release of a pause on permitting of liquified natural gas export facilities, but some warn his promise to impose new tariffs could hurt international sales. (WVUE)

ALSO:

• Experts say president-elect Donald Trump will likely move to increase oil and gas drilling on the Gulf Coast, while redirecting grants away from projects to accelerate the clean energy transition across the Southeast. (NOLA.com, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A company announces plans to close a Houston refinery that’s been operating for more than a century, and is considering whether to repurpose it to recycle plastic or produce renewable gas. (Houston Chronicle)
• Federal regulators sign off on a company’s plan to introduce gas into its liquified natural gas export plant in Louisiana, moving it a step closer to beginning operations. (Reuters)

SOLAR:

• A Chinese company agrees to sell a 5 GW solar panel factory and other assets in Texas to a Georgia battery maker for $340 million amid growing scrutiny over Chinese companies receiving clean energy tax benefits. (PV Magazine; Bloomberg, subscription)
• Two Virginia counties brace for more solar development as Dominion Energy aims to build 12 GW of new solar over the next 15 years, but the long list of projects filed with a regional transmission organization makes it unclear how many are planned or have been withdrawn. (Smithfield Times)

CLEAN ENERGY: Experts say Trump’s presidential victory could dampen clean energy development, especially offshore wind, but the falling cost of renewables and federal investment in solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in Republican states will likely keep the energy transition intact. (Reuters)

STORAGE:

• A company announces plans to build a 287 MW pumped storage energy facility in Kentucky on the site of a former coal mine. (CleanTechnica)
• Federal officials award $24.9 million to retrofit a Kentucky factory to make lithium-ion battery electrolytes, $20.3 million for a Texas factory to repurpose used electric vehicle batteries for energy storage and generation, and $9.8 million for a battery-grade iron phosphate plant in West Virginia. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES: Federal regulators defend their decision to approve the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to build a 32-mile pipeline in Tennessee as part of a project to replace a coal plant with a gas-fired power plant. (Bloomberg, subscription)

NUCLEAR: A Virginia nuclear services company announces its purchase of a Tennessee business that makes specialized metals, high-strength alloys and other products from depleted uranium. (Cardinal News)

HYDROGEN: Austin, Texas’ municipal utility officials consider the possibility of building a hydrogen-capable gas plant, along with expanded transmission infrastructure and new solar generation and battery storage. (Austin Monitor)

GRID: A Virginia county board delays its consideration of a company’s application to expand a data center complex and build more housing for its workers. (Mecklenburg Sun)