North Carolina eyes Virginia’s offshore wind for signs of what’s to come

WIND: As North Carolina moves forward with numerous offshore wind projects, state residents eye Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm near Virginia for indicators of what’s to come. (WFAE)

ALSO:

• A German energy company looks to build out the offshore wind industry in New Orleans after it was the only winner in last year’s lackluster leasing auction in the Gulf of Mexico. (Utility Dive)
• A South Korean company plans to make undersea cables for the offshore wind industry at a 700-foot-tall factory in Virginia, which will be the tallest building between Philadelphia and Charlotte. (Chesapeake Bay Magazine)

OIL & GAS:

• A court finds federal regulators didn’t adequately consider the effects of a planned liquified natural gas terminal in Louisiana, but instead of blocking its approval, the court sends it back for more consideration. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• Florida regulators approve a company’s proposal to build three Florida projects to integrate renewable natural gas produced at landfills into a gas company’s distribution system. (news release)

SOLAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department is funding the installation of thousands of solar-plus-storage systems in Puerto Rico as the island looks to rebuild its power infrastructure after Hurricane Maria seven years ago. (Utility Dive)
• A Virginia county board considers a proposed 72 MW solar farm on a 1,500-acre site. (Richmond BizSense)
• A Georgia county official asks commissioners to determine how to handle future solar proposals, especially those on farmland. (The Advance)

COAL ASH: Duke Energy has removed about a fifth of the coal ash stored in an unlined pond at a North Carolina power plant and says it’s running ahead of a state deadline. (WFAE)

CLIMATE: Austin, Texas, adjusts its 2030 climate plan to set new power generation targets after seeing increases in peak demand. (Austin Monitor)

GRID:

• Texas regulators launch an investigation of CenterPoint Energy’s response to Hurricane Beryl in Houston, where more than 90,000 people still don’t have electricity. (KXAN, Houston Chronicle)
• The Texas regulatory board tasked with stabilizing the state’s standalone power grid was largely shaped by reforms implemented after its decision to hike power prices during massive outages during a 2021 winter storm. (Houston Chronicle)
• Virginia and South Carolina lead the U.S. in commercial power demand growth, with much of that spike coming from data center development. (Utility Dive)
• Elon Musk’s xAI continues work on a roughly 150 MW supercomputer project in Memphis, Tennessee, but the Tennessee Valley Authority and local utility have yet to approve its connection to the grid. (Commercial Appeal)

NUCLEAR: Dominion Energy says a Virginia nuclear power plant and plans to build an adjacent data center and hydrogen facility powered by small modular nuclear reactors won’t be affected by its plan to study building a small modular nuclear reactor at another site. (Smithfield Times)

POLITICS: The power company under scrutiny by Texas officials as it struggles to restore outages in Houston caused by Hurricane Beryl last week has given $1.4 million to state lawmakers and political groups since 2022. (Nexstar)

COMMENTARY: A journalist and an advocate argue that only phasing out fossil fuels will slash Permian Basin methane emissions, and that new pollution-detecting satellites and inadequate regulations will fall short. (Scientific American)