Solar booms in southern Virginia amid a growing local backlash

SOLAR: A new study finds local governments in southern Virginia have approved 13 GW of solar generation in the last decade, but roughly a quarter of those projects still need state permits and a growing number of localities are now blocking solar farms. (Cardinal News)

ALSO:

• After a brush with bankruptcy in 2017, Suniva rebounds by launching commercial production of solar cells at its new Georgia factory. (Reuters)
• Analysts point to Donald Trump’s presidential victory as a likely factor in a Chinese company’s sale of a Texas solar factory to a Georgia-based battery manufacturer, even though company officials say the election has ​“nothing to do” with it. (Politico)
• Dominion Energy launches a pilot project to install beehives at Virginia solar farms. (WRIC)

STORAGE:

• The head of a new North Carolina battery factory that’s under construction says he doesn’t think Donald Trump’s election will affect the company’s access to a $100 million federal grant that will allow it to triple its production capacity. (Carolina Public Press)
• Georgia Power officials celebrate the launch of a 65 MW battery storage facility. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

WIND: A Texas anti-abortion group urges the state Supreme Court to give standing to residents who want to challenge a wind farm’s tax breaks, in hopes a ruling would also allow it to challenge public funding for abortion access. (Bloomberg, subscription)

CLEAN ENERGY: Researchers say $4.5 billion of planned clean energy investment in Texas and more than 22,000 jobs could be threatened if President-elect Trump rolls back Joe Biden’s landmark climate legislation. (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: 

• A Virginia company plans to file a scaled-down proposal to build a gas-fired power plant and data center complex after its first application sparked opposition from residents and a county board. (Virginia Business)
• Gulf Coast oil and gas companies herald Donald Trump’s win last week in hopes of faster approvals for drilling permits and pipelines, expanded oil and gas leasing on federal lands and water and the lifting of a moratorium on permitting of new liquified natural gas terminals. Houston Chronicle)
• Texas oil and gas companies strain to keep pace with soaring insurance premiums, with some struggling even to find carriers that will insure them. (Houston Chronicle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: ​“We’re not there”: West Virginia’s transportation secretary tells state lawmakers the electric vehicle transition is moving slowly because of a lack of charging stations as well as lagging battery technology. (WV Metro News)

NUCLEAR: Texas A&M University invites developers to build nuclear power generators on one of its campuses, after previously offering up land for construction of gas-fired power plants. (Houston Chronicle)

GRID:

• Duke Energy reports it’s signed agreements to connect 2 GW of new data centers in the Carolinas, largely because of the availability of carbon-free nuclear power. (Utility Dive)
• Officials in a Georgia city say they were ​“blindsided” by Georgia Power’s plan to build a 2.4-mile transmission line through a local neighborhood. (Decaturish)

UTILITIES: San Antonio, Texas’ municipal utility far exceeds its projections to produce $200 million in wholesale revenue over the summer, even as crews move to repair power plants that broke down ahead of the winter. (Houston Chronicle)

COMMENTARY: Energy developers and farmers should work together to pair more solar farms with honeybees and other agricultural projects to benefit Virginia, writes an editorial board. (Virginian-Pilot)