Renewables on the rise in Texas

CLEAN ENERGY: Wind and solar are booming in Texas, with the state ranking first in the U.S. for wind energy and just behind California for solar, and renewables now accounting for a third of all power produced in the state. (Axios)

ALSO: A new report finds nine clean energy projects announced in North Carolina between 2022 and 2023 will add $10.2 billion to the state’s gross state product during construction and $593.5 million annually while they’re operating. (Raleigh News & Observer)

CLIMATE:

• Federal officials revoke an insurance discount for 125,000 Florida homeowners after warning local officials about unsafe rebuilding that failed to elevate homes after 2022’s destructive Hurricane Ian. (E&E News)
• The company hired by a Texas utility to inspect its power poles declines to testify to state lawmakers about last month’s historic wildfires, which have been blamed on a decayed power pole. (Texas Tribune)
• Texas’ state parks department asks to use more prescribed burns to reduce brush to avoid future incidents like the historic wildfires that swept the state in March. (KTBC)

COAL:

• Experts say the collapse of a Baltimore bridge will likely funnel more coal exports to Virginia’s ports, but an operator says they’re already operating at full capacity. (S&P Global)
• West Virginia coal producers face uncertainty and the potential for higher shipping costs after the Baltimore bridge collapse. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• A West Virginia agency files suit against a defunct mining company owned by Gov. Jim Justice after residents complain about chemical contamination of a creek and their wells. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

SOLAR:

• Virginia regulators approve four solar farms and 13 power purchase agreements for Dominion Energy, while acknowledging growing demand by the state’s booming data center sector. (Virginia Mercury)
• A company closes financing for a 127 MW solar farm in Louisiana. (PV Tech)

OIL & GAS:

• The Tennessee Valley Authority starts the procurement process for a 1.5 GW natural gas-fired power plant, a 100 MW battery facility and up to 4 MW of solar to replace a large coal plant. (Engineering News-Record)
• Analysts say the United States’ rising liquified natural gas exports will tie domestic gas prices even more tightly to international markets. (S&P Global)

GRID: A Texas appeals court allows lawsuits against transmission and distribution utilities related to the 2021 winter storm and widespread outages. (The Hill)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration is largely looking to gas stations to install electric vehicle chargers, boosting companies that have long been some of the biggest sellers of fossil fuels. (E&E News)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Residents of a historic Black community in Alabama see an opportunity to restrict a polluting asphalt plant when its air permit comes up for renewal with state regulators. (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: Protesters gather outside the offices of Virginia’s environmental regulatory agency to call for greater enforcement of erosion rules against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (WHSV)

COMMENTARY:

• A columnist warns Texans of door-to-door salespeople who confuse people about sales, financing and installation of solar systems. (Dallas Morning News)
• The mayor of a Tennessee county with a ​“rich history of embracing and supporting the nuclear sector” endorses Gov. Bill Lee’s call for more nuclear energy development. (Knoxville News Sentinel)