Southeast utilities lean on natural gas, solar to keep up with demand

GRID: A Texas municipal utility builds four large solar farms and a natural gas-fired power plant as it aims to keep pace with power demand from data centers and electrification. (El Paso Times)

SOLAR:

• Texas added 6.5 GW of solar in 2023, surpassing California now twice in the last three years as the leading state for new solar installations. (Dallas Morning News)
• A Virginia county board discusses what to do if the state moves to override local ordinances to restrict and regulate solar development after such a bill failed this year. (Lynchburg News & Advance)
• An Arkansas auto service center announces it will install solar panels, making it one of the first businesses in the area to go solar. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A Georgia county preps a 202-acre industrial site to attract a factory as Hyundai Motor Group and SK On build a massive electric vehicle battery plant several miles away. (Rome News-Tribune)
• The United Auto Workers tries for the third time to unionize Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but so far sees diminishing returns. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• A study finds North Carolina among the top states for growing electric vehicle infrastructure, but ranks Greensboro and Winston-Salem among the least friendly for EV drivers. (WTVD, Winston-Salem Journal)
• Georgia officials hope electric vehicle maker Rivian resumes construction of its factory, but say taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $300 million in infrastructure improvements if not. (WXIA)

OIL & GAS:

• Environmentalists call for a sharper response from Alabama officials after a truck crash spilled more than 2,000 gallons of oil and gas. (Inside Climate News)
• Police make nine arrests during a week of direct action against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, including two seniors who locked themselves to a car and an activist who spent nearly 36 hours inside a length of pipe. (Inside Climate News)

COAL: An Alabama family sues for damages after a coal mine explodes because of what a lawyer blames on a buildup of methane gas. (Inside Climate News)

CLEAN ENERGY: A report finds Georgia ranks second in the U.S. for clean energy development with $23.12 billion in investment. (Augusta Chronicle)

POLITICS: Virginia lawmakers use a budget amendment to try to force the state to rejoin a regional carbon market, but it will likely be vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE:

• A nine-mile island in New Orleans is slowly being swept away by rising seas, and its erosion could severely affect more heavily populated parts of the city that it helps to protect from storm surge. (NOLA.com)
• A Texas power company faces numerous lawsuits after investigators say its decayed power pole sparked this month’s historic wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:

• The abrupt departure of a South Carolina regulator protesting legislation to speed development of a natural gas-fired power plant should serve as a warning about the utility-friendly legislation’s rollback of consumer protections, writes an editorial board. (Post and Courier)
• Florida should not rely on natural gas in the clean energy transition because the emissions that come from its production, transportation and distribution still accelerate climate change, writes a climate advocate. (Florida Times-Union)