Struggling EV company furloughs workers, pauses Oklahoma factories

Thank you for reading Southeast Energy News this past year. We’re taking a break for the holidays, and will see you again on Jan. 2. 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric vehicle maker Canoo announces furloughs for 82 employees in Oklahoma as it looks for additional funding, which could lead to the company being forced to repay $1 million in state job creation incentives. (Oklahoman, Frontier)

GRID:

• Texas regulators vote down the state’s ​“performance credit mechanism” to require utilities, co-ops and providers to pay more to generators that committed to having electricity during times of high demand, after learning the proposal would have only generated 780 MW of new power. (Texas Tribune)
• Virginia’s booming data center sector leads to concern about its rapacious appetite for power and land, which will prompt discussion of potential restrictions during state lawmakers’ upcoming legislative session. (WVIR)

SOLAR:

• A Virginia county planning commission pauses its consideration of a proposed 80 MW solar farm with 120 MW battery facility due to its size and complaints from worried residents. (Farmville Herald)
• A company begins operation of a 200 MW solar farm in Texas that will supply power to Microsoft. (Renewables Now)
• A company asks a Virginia county for an extension to develop a 5 MW solar farm that was approved nearly two years ago. (Farmville Herald)

OIL & GAS:

• Emails reveal how a company proposing a large liquified natural gas export plant sends talking points and media strategy to elected officials in a nearby Texas town as it seeks federal approval for construction. (Texas Observer)
• An American Electric Power subsidiary scrambles to upgrade two Texas coal plants with natural gas-fired burners, though they still need regulatory approval. (KYTX)
• North Carolina regulators sign off on a certificate for Duke Energy to build the first of two hydrogen-capable natural gas units, though the utility still awaits approval of air permits to retire four coal-fired units and replace them with gas. (Courier-Times)
• North Carolina residents join with environmental groups to oppose a gas company’s plans to expand the capacity of its 10,000-mile Transco pipeline network across the Southeast. (Northwest Observer)

WIND: Two Texas residents ask the state’s top court to review a ruling that found they lacked standing to challenge a neighboring wind farm’s more than $10 million tax break. (Bloomberg, subscription)

NUCLEAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Tennessee receives a perfect score on its emergency preparedness evaluation. (WBIR)

HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department unveils plans to conduct environmental reviews for proposed hydrogen hubs in Appalachia, California and the Northwest. (E&E News, subscription)

CLIMATE:

• A Georgia tide gauge shows sea levels have risen by more than 7 inches since 2010, offering insight into how climate change is affecting the Southeast’s coastal regions. (Washington Post)
• Tampa, Florida, experiences its wettest year on record, experiencing Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton as well as the highest hourly rainfall on record. (WFLA)
• Congress approves 17 Louisiana flood control projects, including a $5.9 billion plan to build a levee and elevate thousands of buildings. (NOLA.com)

UTILITIES: The New Orleans City Council approves the sale of the city’s natural gas distribution system to a private equity firm, prompting concerns about rising bills and how the sale might shield the company from local regulation and pressure to decarbonize. (NOLA.com, DeSmog)