Solar charges up in Arkansas

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Record-breaking solar: Cypress Creek breaks ground on what’s likely to become the country’s biggest solar and storage farm. The Arkansas facility will bring together 1.6 GW of solar capacity and 1.9 GWh of battery storage, with Google contracted to buy all the electricity from the project’s first two phases. (Canary Media)

Merger watch: Dominion Energy submitted its arguments to Virginia’s State Corporation Commission as it seeks to merge with Florida’s NextEra Energy, giving the utility regulators six months to review the $67 billion deal. Advocacy group Clean Virginia quickly filed an argument against the merger with the commission, saying Dominion’s application is missing ​“critical” information. (Virginia Mercury, WRLC)

Building the sun: SEG Solar announces that it’ll build a 4.6-GW solar module manufacturing facility outside Houston, which would bring its manufacturing capacity in the area to 10.6 GW. This would mark SEG’s third solar factory in the area; the firm just revealed plans for its second facility a month ago. (Houston Business Journal)

Invisible dangers: In the rural stretch of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley, public air monitors are often located far away from industrial polluters like refineries, and many don’t test for especially dangerous chemicals. (Floodlight)

PJM tries again: As PJM Interconnection’s latest capacity auction once again hits its market cap, the grid operator is advancing a plan that it hopes will ensure it can secure the power it needs to serve growing data center demand. (Canary Media)

Justice is served: A federal judge in Kentucky ordered Jay Justice, the son of U.S. Sen. Jim Justice (R), to pay another $1 million in attorney fees, fines, and interest in a decade-long case against the Justice family’s coal company. That brings Jay Justice’s total fines in the case to more than $18 million. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

Hydrogen unplugged: Plug Power has canceled its $850 million green hydrogen project in Texas, and will sell its 66 acres of land and 164 MW of grid interconnection assets to Stream US Data Centers. (Data Center Dynamics)

Bee prepared: The destruction of Hurricane Helene two years ago has inspired many North Carolina communities to consider installing solar power and home batteries to shore up their power supplies. The nonprofit Footprint Project is meanwhile rolling out more portable, battery-equipped ​“beehive” systems that can provide device charging and water filtration during emergencies. (Grist)

Gas’ major price tag: Louisiana officials, regulators, and advocates are digging into Entergy Louisiana’s plans for a $30 billion grid infrastructure buildout — a total that could raise its customers’ bills by as much as $40 a month. (Nola.com)

On their grid game: The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will receive an up-to-$160 million federal grant to accelerate grid modernization research. UNC Charlotte’s work is part of an initiative called the Carolinas Grid Engine, which brings together dozens of utility, development, government, and research partners to tackle infrastructure challenges. (Charlotte Business Journal)