Judge blocks effort to halt Virginia offshore wind farm

WIND: A federal judge denies a request to halt Dominion Energy’s construction of a 2.6 GW offshore wind farm near Virginia by conservative groups who argue it will threaten endangered whales. (WHRO)

ALSO:

• Advocates in Louisiana and elsewhere wonder if offshore wind will ever take off in the U.S., where President Biden has pushed for new construction but conservative groups have increasingly opposed it. (Floodlight)
• The Chesapeake Bay Foundation assesses damage after lightning strikes a wind turbine on its environmental center in Virginia. (WAVY)

SOLAR:

• A Virginia city and county partner on a project to build solar facilities on defunct landfills. (Fredericksburg Free Press)
• At least eight colleges in Virginia now offer training programs to teach people how to install solar arrays. (WVTF)
• A company acquires a 257 MW solar farm in Texas. (Renewables Now)
• A renewables company announces it’s received $680 million in tax equity financing for a portfolio of solar and storage projects, including a 250 MW solar farm in Texas. (news release)

OIL & GAS:

• Oklahoma lawmakers approve $50 million for a revolving fund that will allow oil and gas companies to claim up to 25% of their costs for adding methane-reduction equipment. (Oklahoma Watch)
• ConocoPhillips announces it will acquire Marathon Oil in an all-stock transaction worth $22.5 billion. (news release)
• Pipeline company Energy Transfer buys a company that operates the largest private gas gathering and processing business in the Permian Basin. (E&E News, subscription)

PIPELINES: A growing number of groups ask federal regulators to delay approval for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to begin service as construction crews continue to inch toward completion. (WDBJ)

OVERSIGHT: A Georgia energy regulator is criticized for bragging the state’s energy mix is ​“the cleanest and most reliable of any state in the nation” (it’s actually Vermont), even though its largest utility produces 60% of its power from fossil fuels. (Savannah Morning News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration announces nearly $1 billion will go to about 530 school districts across the U.S. to fund the purchase of electric school buses. (States Newsroom)

HYDRO: The Tennessee Valley Authority rehabs a 10-acre island downstream from the site of its first hydroelectric dam and power plant. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

GRID:

• New research shows much of Texas and other parts of the Southwest will soon endure heat waves that will strain transformers and threaten grid reliability for more than a third of the year. (Washington Post, WBUR)
• Virginia is home to 70% of the world’s data centers, raising concerns about rapid development and grid infrastructure associated with the power-hungry facilities. (Virginia Mercury)

CLIMATE:

• Severe storms kill at least 15 people across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, and leave half a million people without power in Texas. (Associated Press, CNN)
• Texas Panhandle residents begin doing what they can to mitigate danger three months after devastating wildfires, and a full seven months before state lawmakers will reconvene to consider legislative remedies. (Texas Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Texas’ recent brush with severe storms should remind state lawmakers that climate change is worsening and they should back carbon-free energy instead of further incentivizing new natural gas-fired power plants, writes an editorial board. (Dallas Morning News)