Solar companies decry North Carolina’s aggressive auditing

SOLAR: Solar investors attracted to North Carolina by its renewable energy tax credit complain aggressive auditing is damaging the state’s reputation as a welcoming destination for investment. (Raleigh News & Observer)

ALSO:
• A Houston firm seeks tax incentives to expand a 150 MW solar farm under construction by another 80 MW. (Houston Business Journal)
• A Kentucky city ends its contract to buy power from a solar farm scheduled to go online in 2022 because of concerns about transmission fees. (Messenger Inquirer)

***SPONSORED LINK: Whether you’re aware of it or not, clean energy is working for you right now. Support NCSEA’s efforts to continue building a clean energy future that works for all North Carolinians by giving a tax-deductible donation before December 31. www.energync.org/cleanworks .***

TRANSMISSION: Gulf Power will pull transmission lines across a Florida interstate this weekend as part of its conversion of Plant Crist from coal to natural gas. (NorthEscambia.com)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: British electric vehicle maker Arrival, which already announced a microfactory in South Carolina, will locate its North American headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)

UTILITIES:
• South Carolina regulators unanimously reject Dominion Energy’s three-year resource plan because it doesn’t include enough renewables, energy efficiency and battery storage. (Statehouse Report)
• In Virginia, Dominion Energy dives into wind and solar, seeking a vessel to install offshore wind turbines while offering a program for low-income residents to install solar panels. (Daily Press)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority contracts with tech company Emerson to upgrade software and automated systems at its Magnolia natural gas plant in Mississippi. (PowerTechnology)
• Duke Energy’s CEO discusses the utility’s carbon reduction plans for the next two years. (Bloomberg)

OIL & GAS:
• A Texas judge orders state regulators to stop granting waivers allowing oil and gas companies to sidestep legal requirements to cap unplugged wells and clean up waste pits. (Bloomberg)
• Jobs in the oilfield sector grew slightly in November, but analysts worry about a generational turnover, as baby boomers laid off during the pandemic choose to retire instead of return to work. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• A Texas manufacturing company says outdoor gear maker North Face declined to fulfill an order of jackets bearing the firm’s logo because it supplies the oil and gas industry. (KOSA)

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COAL: West Virginia officials and business leaders discuss alternative uses for coal, including turning it into fertilizer. (WVNS)

COMMENTARY: A longtime Virginia energy activist calls for more agrivoltaics, in which land is simultaneously used for farming and solar energy generation. (Virginia Mercury)