PJM wrestles with data centers

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.

GRID

• As Congress members and state officials react to rising power prices, grid operator PJM Interconnection considers how to fast-track data center approvals while mitigating their energy use, especially at key moments when power demand spikes. (Canary Media)

• Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Don Moul says the federal utility is working with data centers to try to avoid ​“unduly burdening” ratepayers with higher costs, though Trump’s firing of board members has slowed some decisions. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• Google announces plans to invest $40 billion to build data centers across Texas as it seeks an edge in the race to develop AI. (Texas Tribune, Houston Chronicle)

• An Alabama city council prepares to vote on a proposed data center that faces challenges from the downstream presence of a newly identified fish and conflicting plans with a multi-billion dollar highway project that state and federal officials have pushed for years. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR

• First Solar announces plans to invest $330 million building a South Carolina factory to manufacture solar modules, with commercial operations set to begin in late 2026. (WYFF, Electrek)

• German energy company RWE has completed construction of a 100 MW solar farm in Louisiana and will begin sending power to Meta by year’s end. (Renewables Now)

• A Virginia city council will hear a proposal to install solar panels on school buildings, eventually equipping 32 buildings. (Cardinal News)

PIPELINES

• North Carolina regulators approve a water permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate spur, which still requires approvals from the federal government and state of Virginia before construction can begin. (WUNC, WFMY)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Some of the skilled South Korean workers who were swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration raid on Hyundai and LG Energy Solution’s electric vehicle and battery factory in Georgia have returned to work and helped restart machinery installation. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

WIND

• Terra-Gen, which is owned by an energy company based in the United Arab Emirates and an Australian investment group, celebrates the opening of a 238.5 MW wind farm in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, its second in the state. (MySanAntonio)

FOSSIL FUELS

• FirstEnergy announces plans to build a 1,200 MW gas-fired plant in West Virginia as part of a $5.2 billion plan that will also add 70 MW of solar by 2028. (State Journal)

• The director of West Virginia’s Energy Office touts FirstEnergy’s plans for a 1,200 MW gas plant and Kindle Energy, Blackstone, and GE Vernova’s joint venture to build a 625 MW gas plant. (WV Metro News)

• U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says federal officials ​“want to do everything in our power to help West Virginia succeed” by encouraging companies to upgrade and extend the life of coal-fired power plants. (State Journal)

• A fire erupts at a decommissioned Texas power plant. (Houston Chronicle, Associated Press)

CLIMATE

• Climate Central reports that Tennessee experienced eight disasters, each causing more than $1 billion in damage during the first half of 2025. (WPLN)

• The families of 18 campers and two counselors who died at a Texas girls camp during July 4 floods file four separate lawsuits against the camp over officials’ failure to evacuate sooner. (Texas Tribune)

COMMENTARY

• The Trump administration’s attacks on renewables are undermining the future of Appalachian communities that historically relied on fossil fuel production and were benefitting from an outsized share of clean energy investment, writes the executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

NEW FROM CANARY

• New York pauses its landmark gas ban in new buildings — Alison F. Takemura

• Ford’s failed bet on an electric F-150 — Kathryn Krawczyk