Should LNG qualify for ​“alternative” energy tax credits?

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• Experts and a Democratic U.S. senator criticize the IRS for awarding Cheniere Energy $370 million in alternative tax credits for using liquified natural gas between 2018 and 2024. (Inside Climate News)

• “There may be no upper limit on oil prices”: Texas oil prices jump after the U.S. and Israel attack Iran, and experts say this price increase could be just the start if the conflict becomes more protracted. (San Antonio Express-News, Politico)

• West Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to establish a goal for coal-fired power plants to operate at a high 69% capacity despite questions over whether the rule would further increase energy prices. (WV Metro News)

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright touts the expansion of liquified natural gas export plants as a source of new jobs as the oil and gas industry has cut jobs in recent years. (E&E News)

• Kindle begins operating a $750 million, 700 MW gas-fired power plant in Louisiana that’s been called one of the most productive and efficient plants in the U.S. (Plaquemine Post South)

• Virginia U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner press the Trump administration to discuss whether staffing cuts and late inspections played a role in a West Virginia coal mine disaster that left a miner dead. (E&E News, WVVA)

• The United Mine Workers of America complains that West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s energy plan opens the door to construction of the state’s first gas-fired power plants in a shift away from coal. (news release)

CLIMATE

• Georgia Power seeks permission from state regulators to collect $912 million from customers over the next four years in storm-related expenses from Hurricane Helene. (Inside Climate News)

STORAGE

• A Virginia lawmaker discusses legislation to establish a virtual power plant program that would allow Appalachian Power customers to voluntarily install solar panels and sell the power back to the grid. (WDBJ)

• Recurrent Energy announces it’s completed the sale of a 200 MWh battery storage facility in Texas. (news release)

OVERSIGHT

• The Republican chairman of a Texas board that oversees the oil and gas industry faces four opponents in tomorrow’s primary election. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• The Trump administration presses for BWX Technologies to build a uranium processing facility in a historic Tennessee town. (WUOT)

HYDROPOWER

• The Tennessee Valley Authority is eligible for a federal tax credit that could reduce the cost of a new hydroelectric facility in Alabama by $1 billion. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

COAL ASH

• Public records show Alabama Power projects it will spend $259 million this year on coal ash ponds at six power plants. (AL.com)

EMISSIONS

• Experts criticize the Trump administration’s rollback of 2024 air pollution standards for power plants and its claim that doing so would save $760 million, calling that flawed accounting that doesn’t take into account public health costs. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES

• Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility prepares to choose leaders for the new year amid controversy and growing scrutiny about how it operates. (WJXT)

DATA CENTERS

• “Frankenstein financing”: Louisiana regulators reject a request to investigate whether Meta’s accounting to keep a $28 billion data center off its balance sheet could leave Entergy customers stuck paying for three natural gas-powered turbines to power it. (Louisiana Illuminator, Wall Street Journal)

• The data center industry calls on labor unions to aid it in its fight to prevent Virginia lawmakers from repealing a more than 15-year-old tax break for developers. (WVTF)

• An Alabama planning commission delays a vote on Nebius’ plans to build an AI factory, data center, and substation after neighbors raise concerns. (WVTM)

PLASTICS

• Texas regulators consider a proposal from Dow and its subsidiary Union Carbide Corporation to effectively legalize discharges of plastic material from its petrochemical facility, despite the state’s lawsuit against the facility. (Inside Climate News)