Solar + storage erases Florida neighborhood’s electric bills

SOLAR: Every residence in an 86-home Florida development comes with solar panels and a home battery, ensuring none of its homeowners pay electric bills, offering a model for sustainable building, and becoming the first residential development in the world to get a LEED Zero Energy certification. (Washington Post)

ALSO:

• A Louisiana solar panel manufacturer announces deals to sell $700 million worth of federal tax credits to a financial tech firm. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Journal)
• Coal-reliant West Virginia still ranks 49th in the U.S. for solar installations but is now seeing development of multiple solar projects and construction of a sizable iron-air battery factory. (CleanTechnica)

COAL ASH:

• The U.S. EPA’s assessment of coal ash as more carcinogenic than previously realized could shift North Carolina’s plans to clean up the substance in Chapel Hill and at least 70 other sites around the state. (NC Newsline)
• The U.S. EPA will enter negotiations with Alabama Power over storage of more than 21 million tons of coal ash at a power plant, even after a judge dismissed an environmental group’s lawsuit over it. (Inside Climate News)

FINANCE: State-led efforts to cut ties with financial firms with environmental goals have wreaked havoc on Oklahoma and Texas small towns’ efforts to finance capital projects. (S&P Global)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast announces it will build a $2 billion plant in India in addition to a $4 billion factory currently under construction in North Carolina. (Associated Press)

STORAGE:

• Analysts predict the federal climate package will drive a record-breaking year for battery installations, with Texas and California continuing to lead the industry’s growth. (S&P Global)
• An energy company announces the completion of a 150 MW battery storage facility in Texas. (Renewable Energy World)

OIL & GAS:

• Texas residents complain of broken trust after officials failed to warn them about an oil spill at a nearby port. (Victoria Advocate)
• A Texas oil company reports a 2,915-barrel leak near Corpus Christi but says the spill was confined on site. (news release)

NUCLEAR: Federal officials approve a construction permit for a demonstration reactor in Tennessee. (Knoxville Daily Sun)

HYDROGEN: A hydrogen policy council established last year by Texas lawmakers begins meeting to discuss guidelines for the emerging industry. (Midland Reporter-Telegram)

UTILITIES: Arkansas regulators press state utilities to report how they are using federal programs to conserve energy while also protecting customers from related rate spikes. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, subscription)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A climate and environmental justice center at Texas Southern University is chosen by the U.S. EPA to receive federal grants. (Houston Defender)

CLIMATE:

• A coral reef in the Florida Keys that was part of last year’s mass bleaching could become an indicator for how reef ecosystems will fare amid climate change. (Miami Herald)
• Rising seas and flooding problems could endanger North Carolina’s long-running use of the permanently docked USS North Carolina as a floating museum and field trip destination for state students. (WSOC)

COMMENTARY:

• Strong federal rules to cut carbon pollution from power plants and vehicles could drive a clean energy boom in North Carolina, writes a clean energy advocate. (WRAL)
• Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility transitions to use more clean energy, including drawing power from a nuclear plant expansion in Georgia and four solar farms in its territory totaling 280 MW, writes its CEO. (Florida Times-Union)