Study warns LNG buildout would unleash emissions, price hikes

OIL & GAS: Federal officials release a study of the effects of 18 planned liquified natural gas export facilities, finding even a single project would emit more annual greenhouse gas emissions than 141 of the world’s countries each did in 2023. (Houston Chronicle, Floodlight)

ALSO:

• U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warns the incoming Trump administration that ​“unfettered exports” of liquefied natural gas could drive up domestic prices and displace renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. (Associated Press, Politico)
• Analysts forecast the oil and gas industry will benefit from President-elect Trump’s promises to ease permitting, add new tax breaks and reduce enforcement of environmental rules, but warn that companies will likely push back against his plans to expand drilling in hopes of boosting exports. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• Texas regulators pass new rules to protect water supplies over pushback from the oil and gas industry and conservative state lawmakers. (KTRH)

NUCLEAR:

• A Massachusetts company announces plans to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion plant in Virginia, a 400 MW operation with hopes of beginning operations by the early 2030s. (Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority completes refueling and maintenance that will add 24 MW of capacity to a Tennessee nuclear power plant. (Power Engineering)

STORAGE: Researchers at a Tennessee lab announce they’ve developed a process to convert coal waste into graphite that can be used in batteries for electric cars and grid storage. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Federal officials announce a $9.63 billion loan to finance construction of Ford’s BlueOval SK electric vehicle factory in Tennessee and two related electric vehicle battery factories in Kentucky. (Utility Dive)
• Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi officials discuss a possible merger that could help the companies better compete in the electric vehicle transition. (Associated Press)

EMISSIONS: Federal officials issue a finding that parts of Louisiana around a ​“carbon black” plant are in ​“nonattainment” of federal air pollution regulations after the state missed a deadline to enforce federal sulfur dioxide limits. (NOLA.com)

CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental Petroleum builds a carbon capture facility in the gas-heavy Permian Basin, but critics argue that adding more injection wells could further destabilize a region already pockmarked with leaky oil and gas wells. (Marfa Public Radio)

CLEANTECH: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces a Texas-based manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting wire will invest $193.7 million to build a North Carolina factory. (news release)

WIND: A company announces it’s fabricated the first of 90 towers planned for use in Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm near Virginia. (Offshore)

COAL: Two conservation groups file suit against a coal company for allegedly exceeding runoff pollution limits at West Virginia three surface mines. (Bloomberg, subscription)