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N.C. solar doesn’t threaten farms, data shows

By Mason Adams

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

SOLAR

  • A new analysis finds North Carolina solar development occupies less than one-third of a percent of the state’s nearly 11 million acres classified as agricultural, countering a frequent political narrative that solar farms are consuming farmland. (Canary Media)

  • Virginia open space advocates respond to a state agency’s approval of a 22 MW solar farm on a state senator’s farm by pressing the state legislature to tighten a milestone law intended to protect ecologically valuable properties. (Virginia Center for Investigative Reporting)

STORAGE

  • Startup Electrified Thermal Solutions begins operating its first commercial-scale thermal battery in Texas, which can store up to 20 MW of off-peak wind and solar to heat metal-oxide firebricks for hours at a time. (Canary Media)

  • A Virginia town council and planning commission reject a proposal to build a 50 MW battery storage system in a residential community. (Mecklenburg Sun)

ALUMINUM

  • Century Aluminum partners with Emirates Global Aluminium to develop what would be the U.S.’ first aluminum smelter in nearly 50 years near Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Canary Media)

GRID

  • This past week’s winter storm exposed weaknesses in the nation’s distribution grid, which carries electricity from substations to buildings, as it toppled power lines and brought widespread outages. (Grist)

  • The Texas power grid remained stable through last weekend’s winter storm, but soaring power demand and memories of the grid’s near-collapse during a 2021 storm keep residents and experts on edge. (Texas Tribune)

  • More than 44,000 Louisiana residents still don’t have power after last weekend’s winter storm, with temperatures forecast to remain low into this weekend. (Louisiana Illuminator)

  • Two Democratic Virginia lawmakers introduce a bill to direct state regulators to keep power lines greater than 136 kV away from residential communities, schools, and other community gathering places. (Virginia Mercury)

FOSSIL FUELS

  • Power generators leaned heavily on coal- and gas-fired power during Winter Storm Fern, while generation from solar, wind, and hydropower declined. (Utility Dive)

  • Texas regulators issue an air pollution permit to Pacifico Energy’s self-described ​“largest power project in the United States,” a planned 7.65 GW complex of gas-fired power plants and data centers. (Inside Climate News)

  • A Permian Basin landowner files a Texas lawsuit against eight oil companies alleging they failed to properly operate and plug water injection wells, leading to soil and groundwater pollution on his property. (Inside Climate News)

  • Some Texas oil companies are unhappy with President Trump’s move to exit the Paris climate agreement because it will cut emissions monitoring programs, which in turn makes it harder for them to attract international investment. (Houston Chronicle)

DATA CENTERS

  • The U.S. Department of Energy lets data centers in the PJM Interconnection use polluting diesel generators through Saturday as a cold spell drives up power demand. (Inside Climate News)

  • Fidelis New Energy formally announces plans for a West Virginia data center campus that will be operated by AI developer American Intelligence & Power Corporation and powered with 2 GW of gas turbines provided by Caterpillar. (WV Metro News, Data Center Dynamics)

BIOMASS

  • Small towns in Louisiana and elsewhere banked on attracting wood pellet plants for jobs and economic prosperity, but their impact has been winnowed by tax breaks, increased air pollution, and smaller numbers of jobs than expected. (Grist/​Verite News)

EFFICIENCY

  • North Carolina regulators launch an energy rebate program in two counties that offers residents rebates on efficient appliances, which will reduce their bills and help alleviate stress on the power grid. (WFAE)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  • Pilot partners with Tesla to build electric semi-truck charging stations at its travel centers at 20 locations, largely along interstates in Georgia, Texas, and several other states. (Utility Dive)

NUCLEAR

  • A federal appropriations bill includes $1.4 million for a Virginia project to develop former coal mining sites for nuclear energy and $1 million to Virginia Tech to research nuclear reactor safety. (Cardinal News)

CLIMATE

  • North Carolina residents displaced by 2024’s Hurricane Helene struggle to stay warm in donated RVs that lack insulation. (Blue Ridge Public Radio)

COMMENTARY

  • The president of a pro-utility regulation group argues that Virginia’s current utility model serves state residents better than an unregulated market that would expose them to volatile energy markets and wildly fluctuating prices. (Cardinal News)

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