N.C. transformer factory could accelerate renewable transition

GRID: Siemens Energy plans to build large electrical transformers at a factory near Charlotte, North Carolina, filling a key gap for equipment to modernize and adapt the grid for renewable and electrification. (Energy News Network)

TRANSITION: The Tennessee Valley Authority finalizes plans to replace a Tennessee coal plant slated for closure with a natural gas plant, some solar panels and battery storage. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

SOLAR:

• Georgia Power’s opposition casts doubt on the prospects for state legislation to expand community solar programs by allowing third-party developers to build small arrays on the company’s turf. (Georgia Recorder)
• Texas’ massive solar buildout is accelerating the transition to renewables in other states like South Carolina, where companies are using power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificates to source solar power from Texas. (CleanTechnica)
• A Virginia county planning commission votes to recommend against a solar farm after owners of a neighboring bed and breakfast rally their large social media following against the project. (Daily Progress)
• A Florida county sees astronomical growth in sales of agricultural land for at least a dozen new utility-scale solar projects. (The Ledger)
• FirstEnergy’s West Virginia subsidiaries reach a settlement to change the rate paid to rooftop solar owners to more than what the companies proposed but less than the current rate. (Dominion Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Volkswagen expects to grow production by more than a third this year at a Tennessee plant that makes SUVs, including an electric model. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• A North Carolina county considers amending its land-use codes to require developers to set aside parking spaces that can be upgraded for electric vehicle chargers, but its business community argues the private sector should make that determination. (Wilmington StarNews)

STORAGE: A company is on track to begin making iron air batteries in a West Virginia factory this month, which can stabilize the grid and accelerate the transition to renewables. (WESA)

OIL & GAS: 

• Tribal nations and advocates push back against a proposed pipeline that would carry Permian Basin natural gas to an export terminal in Mexico, saying it threatens sacred sites and could fuel the LNG boom. (DeSmog)
• West Virginia lawmakers argue over legislation to adjust the assessment formula for valuing oil and natural gas wells. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

WIND: West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill opposed by the wind industry to require wind energy developers to build at least 1.2 miles away from property lines with any landowners who don’t want to participate in the project. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

CARBON CAPTURE: ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods touts the company’s growing investment in carbon capture technology as a way to reduce greenhouse emissions as the company expands its petrochemical operations in Louisiana. (The Advocate)

OVERSIGHT: Virginia lawmakers appoint an energy regulation expert and a consumer advocate to fill two long-standing vacancies on the state’s powerful business and utility regulatory board. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY: Southern officials who cut their teeth on coal remain stubbornly committed to fossil fuels in the form of natural gas, resulting in a plan to build the South’s largest gas pipeline in more than a decade, writes a columnist. (New York Times)