Rising power demand pushes SC to consider regulatory revamp

UTILITIES: South Carolina’s rising power demand and the lack of new generation lead state lawmakers to consider revamping energy regulation with a bill critics call a ​“blank check” for power companies that would hurt consumers and exacerbate climate change. (Floodlight)

ALSO: American Electric Power leaders say they’re concerned about new federal restrictions on power plant emissions and a parallel spike in power demand from large users, especially in Texas and Ohio. (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS:

• A former Texas regulator says oil and gas producers are installing ​“enclosed combustors” that hide flaring of unwanted natural gas, preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gas emissions via satellite. (Guardian)
• Federal officials appear ready to approve Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources, making Exxon the largest producer in the Permian Basin, after the companies agree to freeze out Pioneer’s co-founder and former chief executive. (Dallas Morning News)
• A West Virginia gas company challenges a power plant’s plans to purchase gas from another supplier to produce and use a hydrogen byproduct for power. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

SOLAR:

• A Southern Company subsidiary announces it will expand a 200 MW Texas solar farm by another 180 MW. (Solar Industry)
• The Delaware Nation announces it will use a $250,000 federal grant to install a 37.5 kW solar array on the tribe’s complex in Oklahoma. (KOTV)

WIND:

• Scientists perform a necropsy on a minke whale that washed up in North Carolina, saying climate change likely played a role in recent whale deaths but not offshore wind development, despite claims by right-wing organizations. (Coastal Review)
• A federal judge orders the Biden administration to clarify how it will protect endangered right whales during Dominion Energy’s construction of an offshore wind farm near Virginia. (E&E News, subscription)
• Dominion Energy reiterates its offshore wind farm near Virginia remains on schedule despite ​“erroneous” news reports and ​“meritless arguments” by anti-wind groups trying to delay construction. (news release, WAVY)

HYDROGEN: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces a Danish company will invest $400 million to build a Virginia factory to make hydrogen fuel cells. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla cuts 500 jobs on the team that made electric vehicle chargers, just weeks after it said it would eliminate 2,688 jobs at its Texas factory. (Houston Chronicle)

TRANSITION: Eastern Kentucky leaders hear about communities making headway in the transition away from the region’s historic coal economy, with federal and state funding on its way to assist in the process. (Kentucky Lantern)

PIPELINES: The Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices sue to block a 32-mile natural gas pipeline to supply a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant intended to replace a coal plant. (Tennessee Lookout)

GRID:

• A Texas House committee confirms a decayed power pole caused the largest wildfire in state history, and poor power infrastructure maintenance resulted in four other fires this year. (Texas Tribune)
• A $2.6 billion plan to build a 320-mile transmission line to move 3 GW of power from energy-rich Texas to Louisiana and Mississippi would tie Texas’ independent grid to other regional grids, but critics question how it would affect grid reliability. (Financial Times)
• Residents of a Virginia county organize against NextEra Energy’s plans to build new transmission lines, calling for such projects to instead be built along existing corridors. (Loudoun Times-Mirror)

POLITICS: Florida rejects $3 million in federal funding by refusing to submit a climate action plan and stands to decline up to $500 million despite its status as ​“ground zero for climate change.” (Inside Climate News)