Oil company tries carbon capture again after a failed first attempt

CARBON CAPTURE: An oil company is building a billion-dollar complex to capture and store carbon emissions in Texas despite its failure on a previous project that never operated at more than a third of its capacity and was quietly sold last year for a fraction of its build cost. (Bloomberg)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper uses an executive order to increase the number of members on the state’s environmental justice advisory board and expand its mission into all 10 cabinet agencies. (Raleigh News & Observer)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• The Biden administration signs a deal with the Southern Company for carbon-free electricity to power federal facilities in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• An oil and gas company begins operation of a 380 MW solar plant with 225 MW battery storage in Texas. (Power Technology)

WIND: The threat of hurricanes and relatively lower cost of producing energy elsewhere contributed to the failure of August’s auction of three offshore wind sites in the Gulf of Mexico. (NPR/​Planet Money)

OIL & GAS:

• The Tennessee Valley Authority revs up three new turbines totaling 750 MW at a natural gas-fired power plant in Alabama. (WAFF)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority holds a public input meeting on its plans to expand a natural gas-fired power plant near Memphis, Tennessee. (WREG)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• The United Auto Workers expands its nationwide strike to a highly profitable General Motors factory in Texas, even as the automaker slows its plans to produce electric vehicles amid lower-than-forecast demand. (Associated Press, Quartz)
• Researchers at the University of Alabama work with Alabama Power and Mercedes to extend the life of electric vehicle batteries. (WBRC)

GEOTHERMAL: Construction has been underway for two years on a new geothermal project at Louisville, Kentucky’s airport to reduce carbon emissions and power its operations. (WLKY)

COAL:

• Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power ask West Virginia regulators for a $37.2 million rate increase to pay for environmental upgrades at three coal-fired power plants. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A federal audit finds mine inspectors failed to complete 1,589 mandatory inspections of coal mines between 2018 to 2021 despite reporting a nearly 100% completion rate. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

UTILITIES: Florida receives $106 million in federal funding to help low-income individuals and families pay their electric bills after seeing record demand for the program last year. (WUSF)

CLIMATE: The Biden administration names South Florida as a climate tech hub that’s eligible for millions in federal funding to develop scalable climate change-focused innovations. (Florida Politics)

EMISSIONS:

• Projects in Arkansas, Appalachia and elsewhere seek to decarbonize the process of steelmaking, but many advocates say the process ultimately depends on the widespread availability of green hydrogen. (Canary Media)
• Alabama officials seek public feedback on their plan to reduce transportation-related carbon emissions in the state. (Cullman Times)

COMMENTARY:

• An editorial board criticizes West Virginia utility regulators for suspending in-person public comments by shifting to an online comment format through Microsoft Teams. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
• A Virginia resident sounds the alarm on construction of up to 25 wind turbines just across the border in West Virginia. (Winchester Star)