SpaceX announces massive solar factory in Texas

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

SOLAR

• Permit filings show Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to build a 10-GW solar cell factory in Texas that will make solar panels the company hopes will power data centers in space. (Bloomberg, Austin American-Statesman)

• Another report suggests Musk’s Tesla will build a solar panel factory near its battery factory, although the company has a history of failed promises and underwhelming results at a site in New York that was supposed to become the largest solar manufacturing plant in the Western Hemisphere but didn’t. (Electrek)

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues San Antonio-based CAM Solar Inc. over allegations that it misled customers about energy savings, tax credits, warranties and financing agreements. (Houston Chronicle)

• The South Carolina attorney general hires an outside consultant to look into documents about Silfab Solar’s state facility, which reportedly has been the site of hazardous chemical leaks. (Post and Courier)

• Duke Energy completes construction of another 74.9-MW solar farm in Florida as part of its push to add 900 MW of solar in the state by the end of 2028. (news release)

WIND

• Although NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum has doubted offshore wind’s viability in the past, he now says his firm feels ​“very good” about Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project as the companies look to merge. (Reuters, Inside Climate News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin are increasingly using artificial intelligence to gain an edge on competitors and to figure out new ways to dispose of toxic wastewater. (Texas Tribune)

• Oklahoma and other Republican-led states say they’ve overcome early hurdles and are now successfully tapping a Biden-era fund to plug and remediate orphaned oil and gas wells. (E&E News)

EMISSIONS

• Virginia prepares to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ahead of its September auction, potentially roiling the carbon market and pushing up prices due to its large number of data centers and shortage of clean energy. (Politico)

OVERSIGHT

• Alabama voters reject one incumbent on the Public Service Commission and send another to a runoff election over frustration with rising power bills. (Alabama Reflector)

• Billionaires, big oil companies, and trade groups have poured millions of dollars into the high-profile Republican primary for a seat on the once-obscure Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry. (Texas Tribune)

• After flipping two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission last year, state Democrats aim to win a majority on the five-seat regulatory board this year. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR

• North Carolina lawmakers consider a bill to block Duke Energy from retiring coal plants until state regulators approve new nuclear plants to replace them. (NC Newsroom)

• Florida residents and businesses prepare for the prospect of a revived nuclear industry amid renewed interest from utilities and policymakers. (WUFT)

GRID

• Grid operator PJM Interconnection gets federal permission to curtail power to data centers and other large loads in its 13-state region as hot weather and planned power plant outages threaten to strain the grid. (Utility Dive)

• PJM announces plans to move a backstop reliability auction up to September from March to address rising demand from data centers as it urges states to develop rules to protect ratepayers from their anticipated costs. (Utility Dive)

• Central Virginia residents ramp up their opposition to a planned 115-mile, 765 kV transmission line to be built by Dominion Energy and other utilities. (WVIR)

UTILITIES

• The Tennessee Valley Authority prepares a response to President Trump’s proposal to place a ceiling on executive pay that acting CEO Mike Skaggs is confident the White House will find ​“acceptable.” (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

DATA CENTERS

• An investigation finds Louisiana Sen. John ​“Jay” Morris extensively lobbied for a Meta data center while he and business partners bought and sold land around the site over 15 months. (Floodlight)

• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller calls for a temporary moratorium on data center development, putting him in conflict with Gov. Greg Abbott and revealing a growing rift among Republican officials over the booming sector. (Houston Chronicle)

• A Virginia cabinet official says a Texas-based data center company has eliminated a rural Virginia county from its list of potential destinations because lawmakers are considering whether to eliminate a key tax abatement. (Cardinal News)

• Duke University plans to build a small, 1.5 MW data center that could eventually expand to 3 MW, raising concerns about whether doing so may throw off its climate goals. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY

• Dominion Energy is pushing to build ever-larger gas-fired power plants in Virginia despite the state’s clean energy goals and participation in a regional carbon market, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)

• A clean energy advocate and a tech enthusiast present dueling views on what the proposed NextEra/​Dominion Energy merger means for Virginia. (Cardinal News, Cardinal News)