Report: Southeast ranks last in the nation for energy efficiency

EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)

OIL & GAS: Texas regulators adopt updated oilfield waste rules that now cover drill cuttings, mud that oozes from wells and the wastewater that comes to the surface during fracking. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR: A 900 MW Texas solar farm uses roughly 3,000 sheep to maintain vegetation at its 4,000-acre site, illustrating a broader trend pairing livestock with solar energy development across the U.S. (Associated Press)

POLITICS:

• President Trump names a longtime Virginia utility regulator to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Cardinal News)
• Louisiana housing advocates wince at their fellow state residents’ support for Trump and his promise to roll back a federal climate package that could provide funding to repair and retrofit hurricane-damaged houses. (ProPublica)
• Trump’s inaugural promises and executive orders to reverse climate change initiatives, roll back regulation of oil and gas, and block offshore wind development echo actions Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken in Trump’s home state. (USA Today)

COAL:

• Federal prosecutors say coal companies owned by West Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Justice’s family still owe more than $434,000 in mine safety penalties, some of which have lingered since the 2010s. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• The University of Notre Dame has pledged to curb its use of fossil fuels and attain carbon neutrality, but it has yet to change the lease of its Alabama mineral rights to a coal company planning a sizable mining infrastructure buildout. (Inside Climate News)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:

• Federal officials ask the U.S. Justice Department to investigate claims that Texas discriminated against Black and Hispanic residents in flood-prone coastal communities when it distributed $1 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid in 2021. (Houston Chronicle, Texas Tribune)
• A Virginia nonprofit operates a community garden and partners with a Norfolk State University to help historically marginalized communities exposed to polluting facilities. (WHRO)

GRID:

• Texas’ grid operator reports a 4% increase in power demand in 2024, with additional spikes expected amid a rise in data centers, artificial intelligence and state population. (Houston Chronicle)
• Texas regulators approve Entergy’s three-year, $137 million grid hardening plan, but reject its request for conditional approval of $198 million in projects to be paid through a state fund for power facilities. (Houston Chronicle, Utility Dive)
• A Virginia developer announces plans to build a ​“hyperscale” Kentucky data center complex that will use 130 MW when it launches in 2026, and up to 400 MW at full size. (Kentucky Lantern)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA approves West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority for the drilling of injection wells for carbon capture projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

EMISSIONS:

• A new report finds upstream oil and gas equipment and oil wells leaked 25% less methane in 2023 than the year before, though environmentalists question the report’s methodology and findings. (Texas Tribune)
• Federal agencies and nonprofit groups like The Nature Conservancy have rewetted 60,000 acres of the Great Dismal Swamp since 2012 in an effort to restore layers of peat and their ability to reduce the amount of carbon emitted into the air. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY:

• Appalachian Power’s high rates in Virginia came about largely because of its ongoing reliance on fossil fuels amid price spikes for natural gas and coal, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)
• Virginia has overtaken California as the nation’s top importer of electricity as it seeks to feed its ravenous data centers, while California has significantly grown its rooftop solar capacity, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)