Manufacturing, data centers drive gas plant boom

OIL & GAS: The data center building boom and resurgence in manufacturing have spiked power demand in the Southeast, prompting utilities to propose building dozens of new natural gas-fired power plants. (New York Times)

EFFICIENCY: A Virginia company offers a free online calculator to help homeowners navigate federal tax credits and point-of-sale rebates for efficient appliances. (Energy News Network)

EMISSIONS:

• Majority Hispanic neighborhoods along the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel face toxic emissions from one of the world’s largest petrochemical complexes, but inadequate monitoring data leaves them largely unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe. (Texas Tribune)
• A new study finds oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors may be leaking three times more methane than official estimates, though scientists note most emissions come from a small fraction of facilities, potentially making the problem easier to solve. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE:

• The role of a decayed power pole in sparking this month’s historic Texas wildfires has led to discussion about the state’s general lack of regulations for utilities related to wildfire mitigation. (NPR, Houston Chronicle)
• New research shows how hurricanes and other extreme weather worsened by climate change severely disrupts college students by making them more likely to withdraw from difficult courses and default on their student loans. (NPR)

OVERSIGHT:

• Kentucky lawmakers advance legislation to create a commission to view the state’s energy needs through an economic lens and add another layer of consideration to power plant retirements, but critics say it gives fossil fuel interests even more influence. (Courier Journal)
• South Carolina lawmakers consider legislation to clear the way for Dominion Energy and state-owned utility Santee Cooper to partner on a 2,000 MW natural gas plant, though it also makes sweeping regulatory changes that led one state regulator to resign. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoes a bill to require that long-running vacancies on the state’s environmental justice council be filled. (Virginia Mercury)

BIOMASS:

• Wood pellet producer Enviva says it will continue building a $375 million Alabama plant despite filing for bankruptcy to restructure and shed $1 billion in debt. (AL.com)
• Tax breaks and direct appropriations from the congressional climate package could boost the Southeast’s biomass industry, which has seen growing exports to Europe but struggled economically. (Inside Climate News)

COAL: The Southeast is home to five of the 14 coal plants that closed in the U.S. last year, but power generators are still largely looking to natural gas to replace that capacity. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY:

• Legislation to clear the way for a new natural gas-fired power plant in South Carolina also removes guardrails requiring utilities to act in the public interest, writes an official in the state’s League of Women Voters. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)
• West Virginia should consider repurposing some of the seven coal-fired power plants scheduled for closure over the next 15 years for nuclear power production, writes a Democratic state lawmaker. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)