Hyundai’s green steel vision

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.

STEEL

• Hyundai intends to use natural gas and carbon capture at its planned low-carbon iron and steel mill in Louisiana, but doubts remain about its potential use of green hydrogen, and nearby residents have raised concerns about the plant. (Canary Media)

PIPELINES

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request to begin construction on the North Carolina portion of its 31-mile Southgate extension. (Reuters)

• Demand from the booming data center sector and liquified natural gas exporters is spurring a surge of Texas pipeline projects, including a planned 580-mile project connecting Houston to the Permian Basin. (Texas Tribune)

FOSSIL FUELS

• President Donald Trump castigates large oil companies for keeping gasoline prices high and undermining his effort to successfully end the war in Iran. (Politico)

GRID

• Hundreds of Texas landowners petition state regulators to pause and investigate whether they were adequately notified about route changes for a planned 765-kV transmission line. (Utility Dive)

• Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly seems to be delaying its plans to build a $5 billion factory in Virginia until state regulators approve Dominion Energy’s plans to build an $87 million, 230-kV transmission line to a new substation. (Richmond BizSense)

STORAGE

• Nashville Electric Service partners with Seven States Power to add 100 MW of battery storage to help stabilize the grid and reduce the need for high-cost power purchases. (WSMV)

NUCLEAR

• A research firm suggests Dominion Energy ranks among the utilities best positioned to access up to $17.5 billion in federal loans to build 10 large nuclear reactors at five sites. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES

• The Tennessee Valley Authority’s preliminary integrated resource plan reveals that it’s planning for between 7 GW and 26 GW of natural gas generation by 2040. (Utility Dive)

• Appalachian Power proposes changes to Virginia regulators that would shift how it bills during the winter months and potentially end its budget billing plan that sets a fixed rate for most of the year before ​“settling up.” (Cardinal News)

• Texts between the president of the Jacksonville, Florida, City Council and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club reveal an effort to transfer land owned by the city’s municipal utility to the nonprofit for a teen center. (Jacksonville Today)

DATA CENTERS

• Less than one-third of data center companies responded to a survey from Texas officials seeking to learn how much water and energy they expect to use. (Texas Tribune, Houston Chronicle)

• A Virginia county board unanimously votes to set rules for how to approve data centers, as dozens of residents push it to ban them instead. (Northern Virginia Daily)