NC solar installers secure net-metering settlement with Duke Energy

SOLAR: Three North Carolina solar companies negotiate a settlement with Duke Energy to continue crediting residential solar customers for unused power at a ​“bridge rate” for up to 15 years, though the deal still must be approved by state regulators. (Winston-Salem Journal)

ALSO:
• Georgia regulators say they’re getting ​“lit up” by complaints from angry customers who purchased rooftop solar arrays only to find they don’t qualify for net-metering payments. (WAGA)
• Entergy announces the completion of a 100 MW solar farm in Mississippi that’s now the state’s largest renewable energy plant. (Mississippi Today)
• A Texas solar company installs a 15 MW solar system to power 16 apartment communities near Dallas. (Spectrum News)
• Texas city officials announce plans for a 5 MW solar plant at El Paso International Airport to be built in partnership with a local utility. (KTSM)

HYDROGEN: Is hydrogen overhyped? A Virginia clean energy advocate doesn’t think so, and says the fuel could be a critical piece of the puzzle for reducing emissions. (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE:
• The U.S. Supreme Court will let the Biden administration raise the cost estimate for the societal impact of greenhouse gases that federal agencies can consider when drafting new regulations, overruling a Louisiana judge’s decision to block changes in the formula. (New York Times, Reuters)
• Florida prepares to develop a first-ever plan to address flooding and sea level rise, but environmental groups complain state officials are overlooking climate change as the root cause of the problems. (WMFE)
• Austin, Texas’ municipal utility announces a pilot project to store excess water in aquifers that can be tapped during times of drought. (Austin Monitor)

UTILITIES: The board that oversees Nashville, Tennessee’s municipal utility releases an opinion calling for the Tennessee Valley Authority to invest in renewable energy and drop plans to replace a coal-fired plant scheduled for retirement with natural gas. (WPLN)

PIPELINES: Federal pipeline regulators say they’ll take steps to strengthen safety measures around carbon dioxide pipelines after a 2020 leak in Mississippi resulted in evacuations and caused almost 50 people to seek medical attention. (Reuters)

STORAGE:
• Tesla looks to recruit owners of its Powerwall batteries to help convince Texas’ grid manager to reverse a policy that doesn’t currently allow batteries to send power to the grid. (CNET)
• Tesla delivers four Megapack batteries to a Texas cryptomining center that will be powered by a 3.8 MW solar farm and battery storage. (Electrek)

GRID:
• Louisiana regulators draft a policy that would require Entergy and other utilities to cover 20% of storm repairs instead of passing the entire cost along to ratepayers. (New Orleans City Business)
• Extreme, climate change-driven weather produces high temperatures and storms in the Southeast that threaten the Southeast’s power grid far more than the accompanying shift toward renewables. (Canary Media)

EFFICIENCY: Dominion Energy partners with a nonprofit community action agency on a pilot program to make homes in coastal Virginia more energy efficient. (WTKR)

NUCLEAR: A Virginia official recommends state regulators approve relicensing Dominion Energy’s two existing nuclear plants because they ​“may become more important to the transmission system” as the state moves to decarbonize its power grid by 2050. (Virginia Mercury)

BIOGAS: A Florida dairy farm uses an anaerobic digester to process methane from cow manure into gas that’s turned into energy and sent back into the power grid. (WUFT)

FUELS:
• A Texas fuel-delivery firm secures $125 million to promote a shift to renewable and alternative fuels, and expand mobile, on-demand electric vehicle charging. (Dallas Innovates)
• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp extends a state gas tax suspension through mid-July to cover the Memorial Day and July 4 holidays. (Georgia Recorder)