Judge blocks Trump cuts to coal miner health program

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

OVERSIGHT

• A federal judge rescinds layoffs within a respiratory health division in West Virginia and orders the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners after a miner diagnosed with black lung sues the Trump administration. (Associated Press, West Virginia Watch)

• Elections resume for Georgia’s utility regulatory board after a protracted legal fight led to three years of canceled races and extended terms for three Republican commissioners who remained on the board even after their terms expired. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

GRID

• The Midcontinent Independent System Operator partners with startup Singularity Energy to develop a​“consumed emissions” dashboard that shows the hour-by-hour carbon footprint of communities within MISO’s 15-state territory spanning from Louisiana to North Dakota. (Canary Media)

• Texas’ grid operator forecasts energy usage could surge to 84 GW as temperatures soar into the mid-90s today, but projects solar power will ensure the grid remains stable despite coal and gas plant outages. (Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR

• An Arkansas fish farm rethinks plans to build an 856 kW solar array after the Trump administration presses it and other participants in a federal grant program to remove DEI references in their applications. (Arkansas Times)

• A company that makes diesel engines installs 914 solar panels on the roof of its Georgia headquarters. (Renewable Energy Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Georgia celebrates the 40th anniversary of its investment office in Korea, which led to SK Battery America’s $2.6 billion investment in an electric vehicle battery plant and Hyundai’s $12.6 billion investment in an EV plant and two battery plants with LG Energy System and SK On. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Tennessee Valley Authority sees generation from natural gas-fired plants eclipse its nuclear power over the first quarter of the year due to a series of unplanned outages at its nuclear plants. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• Tallgrass Energy reports it has secured shipper agreements for its planned pipeline to link the Permian Basin to its network in the Midwest, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountains. (S&P Global)

• Analysts say rising financial costs and political uncertainty are leading oil and gas producers to take a ​“wait and see” approach to new drilling projects off the Gulf Coast. (Workboat)

GEOTHERMAL

• Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs legislation to encourage the production of geothermal energy by adding it to the state’s renewable energy portfolio standards. (WMRA)

UTILITIES

• South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Gov. Henry McMaster signs a comprehensive energy bill that streamlines permitting and also allows Dominion Energy, Santee Cooper, and other utilities to pursue expedited annual rate increases in addition to the already-existing multi-year rate case process. (WCNC)

CLIMATE

• Insurance adjusters testify to Congress about insurance companies’ practice of altering and doctoring their work to lower payouts to policyholders after hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the Southeast last year. (Washington Post)

• A report finds sea levels rose a quarter of an inch over the past year in Norfolk, Virginia, the highest measured rise on the East Coast and fourth among all coastal communities in the study. (Virginian-Pilot)

POLITICS

• A Georgia solar panel factory expansion and Louisiana carbon capture projects are among the investments made using Biden-era clean energy funding that Republicans are considering rolling back as part of a $4 trillion tax cut package. (New York Times)