Southeast gas push will disrupt climate goals, Sierra Club says

OIL & GAS: The Sierra Club dings the Southern Company, Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and other Southeast utilities for planning more gas-fired plants that put them well off track of meeting Biden administration emissions goals. (Canary Media)

ALSO:

• Natural gas accounted for nearly half of the nation’s energy generation over the summer while coal fell to just 16%, leaving even West Virginia utilities considering a shift to gas. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Florida gas stations struggle with shortages amid a spike in demand as state residents evacuate or stock up on fuel ahead of Hurricane Milton. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE:

• Amid a swarm of misinformation and conspiracy theories following Hurricane Helene, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say the agency is ​“well-positioned” to respond to Hurricane Milton. (Grist, Florida Sun-Sentinel)
• A new analysis finds climate change amplified Hurricane Helene, which represents the kind of storm that will become more common. (New York Times, Inside Climate News)
• Lower-income Floridians who rely on manufactured housing are disproportionately affected by hurricanes, providing an acute example of how the climate and housing crises overlap. (Grist)

PIPELINES:

• Tennessee residents are outraged after the Tennessee Valley Authority begins surveying their land for a proposed pipeline that regulators haven’t approved yet. (WZTV)
• The developer of a Louisiana carbon pipeline and storage site considers whether to triple its size from 150 to 500 miles, including running it through parts of Arkansas and Texas. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID:

• Nearly 84,000 North Carolina customers still don’t have power after Hurricane Helene, as Duke Energy continues to work through outages. (WLOS)
• Texas grid officials say they’ve reached a compromise with wind, solar and battery storage developers to make fixes to meet new reliability requirements. (Houston Chronicle)
• American Electric Power, Dominion Energy Virginia and FirstEnergy propose several transmission projects across Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio in PJM’s territory. (Utility Dive)
• Houston-area utility CenterPoint Energy announces it will add 25,000 new power poles, trim vegetation along 4,000 miles of power lines, and move 400 miles of lines underground ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. (Houston Chronicle)
• The head of a South Carolina electric cooperative discusses power restoration after Hurricane Helene and calls for more natural gas and nuclear generation to meet rising demand. (Lexington County Chronicle)

SOLAR:

• Florida’s Supreme Court considers allowing Florida Power & Light to allow businesses and wealthy customers to pay extra to accelerate a 1,800 MW solar buildout, which eventually will give them net savings. (Bloomberg, subscription)
• A 112 MW solar farm in North Carolina secures additional financing. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Florida officials say Hurricane Helene triggered roughly three dozen electric vehicle fires, showing the risks of exposing lithium-ion batteries to saltwater. (New York Times)

UTILITIES:

• Georgia Power announces it will suspend disconnections and waive late fees through mid-December in response to disruptions from Hurricane Helene. (WAGA)
• Tampa Electric assembles 5,000 workers, including some from as far away as Minnesota, who are set to respond to outages from Hurricane Milton. (Florida Politics)

POLITICS: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says state lawmakers will review its contract with a consulting firm that recommended a shady company as a finalist for the state’s low-interest, taxpayer-funded loan program to build gas-fired power plants. (Texas Tribune)