N.C. manufacturers take aim at Duke low-income customer program

UTILITIES: A North Carolina manufacturers group moves to block a Duke Energy customer assistance program designed to reduce energy burdens on the utility’s poorest residential customers. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRICITY: State legislatures in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina are among those expanding definitions of clean energy to include power from gas, wood-burning, or nuclear plants. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• An India-based electric vehicle battery maker announces it will build a $650 million graphite anode factory near Wilmington, North Carolina. (WRAL)
• A source says Ford plans to produce an ​“all new” electric vehicle at a Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant that once made gas-powered SUVs. (WDRB)
• Ford tells analysts it plans to delay production at a second Kentucky electric vehicle battery plant until 2025, though construction continues. (WDRB)
• A Dominion Energy program in Virginia to help customers pay for EV charging infrastructure hasn’t drawn any participants in its first year. (Virginia Mercury)
• Gulf Coast states watch the electric vehicle transition with excitement and anxiety about its potential impact on the region’s economy. (WWNO)
• An Austin, Texas, bikeshare program wins an $11.3 million federal grant to expand service and transition to a fully electric bicycle fleet. (Austin Monitor)

SOLAR:

• Duke Energy’s solar rebate program in North Carolina paid out about $45 million over five years but left thousands of customers on a waiting list. (WFAE)
• A Virginia planning commission narrowly recommends approving a conditional use permit for a small solar farm. (Smithfield Times)
• A federal grant helps a Virginia poultry farm install solar panels in ​“a big step forward” for its goal of becoming completely energy independent. (WHSV)
• Sheep grazing among solar farms and other practices that blend solar energy and agricultural production are increasingly common in Texas. (Texas Tribune)

WIND: Wind development is outpacing grid expansion in Oklahoma and other parts of the Southwest Power Pool, prompting companies to also invest in storage. (Reuters)

COAL: A new federal labor report flags nearly 1,600 mine safety inspection reports from 2018 to 2021 that were incomplete or inaccurate. (WOWK)

OIL & GAS: A New Orleans federal appeals court pauses a contested Gulf of Mexico oil and gas auction after industry advocates challenged its reduced scope. (The Advocate)

GRID:

• Dominion Energy and a Virginia electric co-op receive a total of $71.8 million in federal funding to improve power grid resiliency. (Culpepper Star-Exponent)
• South Carolina lawmakers form a committee to brainstorm solutions to avoid power outages like last year’s Christmas Eve blackout. (WLTX)

CLIMATE:

• Fort Lauderdale officials say last spring’s flooding highlighted the need to ramp up infrastructure projects as climate change intensifies storm risks. (WLRN)
• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) avoids mentioning climate change as he seeks reelection against a pro-coal Republican challenger. (Washington Post)