North Carolina’s electrification collaboration

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.

ELECTRIFICATION

• North Carolina nonprofits build on an effort to solarize households and churches by launching a campaign to help low- and moderate-income families to electrify their homes, reduce fossil-fuel combustion, improve indoor quality, and lower household bills. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Analysts say U.S. liquified natural gas exporters could benefit from the war on Iran as global prices spike and desperate international buyers bid top dollar to secure what fuel is available. (Canary Media)

• Advocates worry that Georgia Power’s push to build more gas-fired power plants could cost consumers, especially if the war in Iran pushes fuel prices much higher. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• While neighboring Ohio and Virginia push utilities to lower power rates and invest in cheaper fuel sources, West Virginia lawmakers double down on coal-fired power despite its growing cost and effect on residents’ power bills. (Mountain State Spotlight)

• This month marks the 50th anniversary of a Kentucky coal mine disaster that killed 26 miners. (Kentucky Lantern)

SOLAR

• New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows Texas has at last surpassed California to become the national leader in utility-scale solar installations, though California remains ahead for overall solar power due to small-scale installations. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR

• South Carolina state-owned utility Santee Cooper agrees to pay Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility at least $83 million for 206 MW in 2027 and 103 MW in 2028 from a nuclear power plant to ensure it can meet short-term power demand. (Post and Courier)

• Dominion Energy incorporates 3D-printed parts into its nuclear power facilities in Virginia. (WHRO)

OVERSIGHT

• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and environmental groups push back on Republican lawmakers’ attempts to expand a state utility regulatory board, shift oversight from the governor to a state auditor, and limit the role of advocacy groups. (WEKU, WEKU)

DATA CENTERS

• Virginia lawmakers kill two bills that would have directed state regulators to review data center proposals that would need more than 25 MW of power. (Virginia Mercury)

• Data center growth in the Atlanta metro area begins to level out, although the current queue of projects suggests the region’s boom isn’t done yet. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A new report finds the Southeast EV sector saw $5.5 billion in investment canceled and 4,700 jobs lost in 2025, even as sales rose. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

• Fukoku Korea announces plans to invest $18.9 million to repurpose a Virginia shell building to make thermal gap fillers for EV batteries. (Virginia Business)

UTILITIES

• The Tennessee Valley Authority agrees to sell off a 286-acre site in Tennessee where it had planned to build a 900 MW gas-fired power plant, but then dropped the plan due to opposition. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• Oklahoma regulators deny a second request from OG&E to allow it to bill customers for new gas turbines while they’re still under construction. (StateImpact Oklahoma)

COMMENTARY

• Some economically depressed rural Virginia communities that have tried and largely failed to attract data centers worry they’ll continue to miss out on economic benefits if the state does away with a key tax exemption for the sector, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)