Louisiana regulators abruptly kill energy efficiency program

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Louisiana regulators vote 3-2 to dismantle an independently operated statewide energy efficiency program that’s been in development for 14 years, outraging critics who say the vote was announced with little notice and will raise energy costs. (Floodlight)

WIND

• Arkansas lawmakers pass a bill to develop permit requirements to restrict wind farm development across the state after a compromise exempting the Delta region collapsed. (Arkansas Times)

CARBON CAPTURE

• A Texas company partners with Microsoft on a proposed $800 million carbon capture facility at a Louisiana port. (The Advocate)

• Texas oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum purchases direct air capture startup Holocene, the second carbon capture company it’s acquired in the last two years. (Heatmap)

SOLAR

• Vesper Energy begins operations on a 600 MW solar farm in Texas. (Dallas Innovates)

• Arkansas residents press a county board to deny a 65% tax abatement for NextEra’s proposed solar farm. (KSLA)

• Residents of a rural Texas county organize to oppose solar and battery projects after a hail-damaged solar farm sparked a fire in 2023. (KLTV)

GRID

• A Virginia county board rejects a company’s attempt to withdraw a plan for building a gas-fired power plant and data center complex, then votes the proposal down so it will need to wait at least a year before reapplying. (Cardinal News)

• West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey touts passage of a bill to allow companies to use coal, natural gas, and other energy sources for microgrids to power data centers. (WVVA)

COAL ASH

• A Virginia researcher finds elevated levels of heavy metals associated with coal ash in the James River near a Dominion Energy power plant. (Bay Journal)

• As the Trump administration moves to dismantle environmental rules around coal, U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says the agency will enable states to take over regulation and permitting of toxic coal ash disposal. (Associated Press)

FOSSIL FUELS

• An analysis finds the annual emissions from tankers carrying liquified natural gas, of which the U.S. is the top exporter, cancels out emission reductions from all electric vehicles in the U.S. (Inside Climate News)

• Texas lawmakers consider a bill to require oil and gas companies to notify landowners before burying toxic waste on their property. (Inside Climate News)

• U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visits two Alabama coal mines operated by a company that’s been flagged for environmental and worker safety violations. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES

• Virginia regulators collect testimony on Dominion Energy’s long-range energy plan, which critics say relies too much on construction of new gas-fired plants and moves the utility away from meeting the state’s clean energy goals. (Virginian-Pilot)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A Louisiana economic developer calls for the preservation of clean energy tax credits that are fueling a wave of projects in the state, while also dismissing health concerns in so-called ​“Cancer Alley.” (Times-Picayune)

COMMENTARY

• Residents of southwest Memphis, Tennessee, who have endured generations of pollution and environmental racism will ultimately defeat Elon Musk’s attempt to build gas-fired power plants to power his xAI supercomputer, writes a Tennessee lawmaker. (Commercial Appeal)