N.C. solar company keeps tax credits going

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SOLAR

• North Carolina company EnerWealth Solutions looks to keep tax credit-fueled solar installations going for the next two years by purchasing rooftop solar panels with a credit still available to commercial entities and renting them to homeowners. (Canary Media)

• Dominion Energy files a plan with Virginia regulators to build more than 1,400 MW of solar and storage projects, even as it casts doubt on its ability to meet the state’s clean energy goals with another filing that calls for six new gas-fired plants. (Virginian-Pilot)

• The Southern Environmental Law Center plans to appeal Duke Energy’s program to allow companies and individuals to buy energy credits to support renewables, arguing the program doesn’t boost the installation of solar but just subsidizes actions the company already must take to meet state regulations. (WFAE)

• Residents complain they weren’t consulted about a North Carolina county’s community benefits agreement with solar developer SunEnergy1. (North Carolina Health News)

AFFORDABILITY

• Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s big win for governor in Virginia after campaigning on energy price increases suggests that energy affordability will become a major issue in the 2026 congressional midterms. (E&E News, Politico)

DATA CENTERS

• Now that Virginia Democrats have won full trifecta control of state government, they’re faced with the challenge of figuring out how to meet surging power demand from booming data centers and rural opposition to solar farms without abandoning the state’s clean energy mandate. (Inside Climate News, Virginia Mercury)

• Irish energy infrastructure manufacturer CEL Critical Power announces it will invest $5.2 million to build a Virginia factory to produce power systems to serve data centers. (Virginia Business)

• Bloom Energy, Caterpillar, and other makers of fuel cells, gas turbines, and other equipment see a windfall as tech companies rush to secure electricity for data centers. (Wall Street Journal)

• West Virginia regulators decline to dismiss part of an appeal of the state environmental agency’s handling of air quality permit applications for a gas-fired plant to power a data center, giving opponents hope. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Some retired West Virginia coal miners demand President Trump honor promises he made to win election by enforcing a 2024 rule to cut the allowable limit for silica dust exposure, a major contributor to black lung disease, instead of solely moving to boost coal production. (Associated Press)

• FirstEnergy proposes building a $2.5 billion, 1,200 MW gas-fired power plant in West Virginia, though it has not yet selected a site. (WTRF)

• Entergy proposes spending $1.6 billion to build a 754 MW gas-fired power plant in Arkansas next to a coal-fired plant expected to close in 2028. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

• The president of a Texas oil company warns of layoffs and a potential slowdown in drilling next year as OPEC+ producers flood the market and drive down prices. (KMID, Reuters)

• The number of workers in Kentucky’s coal mines falls below 3,800 for the first time on record as coal production and employment decline. (WEKU)

• Kentucky residents express concern about black sludge and a film of oil in a waterway near Muhammad Ali International Airport after a deadly UPS plane crash. (WDRB)

OVERSIGHT

• North Carolina joins 11 other states in suing two government agencies for withholding $17.5 million in grants to fund emergency equipment and support the salaries of people who assist with natural disasters and other emergencies. (Blue Ridge Public Radio)

CLIMATE

• An international team of scientists determines that climate change strengthened Hurricane Melissa’s wind speeds and rainfall, and is making such ​“monster” storms five times more frequent. (Guardian)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Chart: China leads the race to build green industrial projects — Maria Gallucci

• NYC’s next mayor Zohran Mamdani has a big climate policy to-do list — Alexander C. Kaufman

• In a boost for offshore wind, New Jersey elects Mikie Sherrill — Clare Fieseler

• In Ohio, hydrogen industry presses on despite federal uncertainty — Kathiann M. Kowalski