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Heat deaths, power outages getting worse

By Dan Haugen

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GRID: Weather-related power outages, such as those that recently struck Texas, are happening more frequently as storms intensify and an aging electric grid struggles to keep pace with demands. (CNN)

ALSO:

CLIMATE: An analysis of death certificates finds that 2023 was a record year for heat-related deaths and illnesses, with Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas among the hotspots where rates surged. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:

  • Hotter summers, inefficient construction, and political influence by utility companies are all contributing to higher energy costs in the Gulf South region. (Gulf States Newsroom)
  • A Republican pollster is ​“taken aback” by a recent poll finding that likely Florida voters in both parties worry about the state’s heavy reliance on natural gas for electricity. (Tampa Bay Times)

COAL: Clean energy advocates are finding success in Louisiana and elsewhere arguing that coal is more costly than renewables and that ratepayers shouldn’t have to pay for uneconomical power plants. (New York Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

  • A planned Toyota EV battery manufacturing ​“megasite,” spurred by the federal Inflation Reduction Act, is driving an economic transformation in a rural North Carolina community. (Inside Climate News)
  • Daytona Beach, Florida, is in talks with companies to provide a free, app-based shuttle service using electric vehicles. (Daytona Times)
  • School districts in Georgia and Virginia are among those receiving millions of dollars in federal funding for electric school buses. (Macon Telegraph, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

EMISSIONS: Savannah, Georgia, has seen its electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions decline over the last two decades even as its population grew, but transportation emissions are rising. (Savannah Now)

OIL & GAS: 

  • Arkansas and the federal government sue ExxonMobil over a 2013 pipeline failure that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of heavy crude into a residential neighborhood over the course of 12 hours. (Arkansas Times)
  • A company will host a public meeting tomorrow for its plans to build a natural gas storage facility and pipelines in southwest Louisiana. (KPLC)
  • The developer of a proposed liquified natural gas export terminal in Texas asks federal regulators for more time to complete the project, citing its prolonged legal fight with the Sierra Club. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR:

  • The CEO of a solar company pitching free solar panels to New Orleans schools faces fraud and theft accusations in states where he has previously done business. (NOLA.com)
  • More than 100 residents gathered in a Virginia high school gym last week to learn about a proposed solar farm that’s expected to generate $20 million in tax revenue. (Bristol Herald Courier)

STORAGE: Lynchburg, Virginia’s city council approves siting agreements for two major battery energy storage systems that include money for the fire department to buy training and equipment. (News & Advance)

POLICY: A Virginia Department of Energy official will serve as executive director of a newly revived state commission tasked with studying energy-related legislative proposals. (Virginia Mercury)

COMMENTARY: North Carolinians would pay the cost of Duke Energy’s proposed natural gas plant build-out through heightened utility bills and worsened health, air and water, an advocacy group writes. (Appalachian Voices)

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