Texans to vote on $5B fund to build more gas plants

GRID: Texans prepare to vote on a constitutional amendment to create a state fund to incentivize construction of more natural gas-fired power plants, but two energy experts doubt the proposal will do much to stabilize the state power grid. (Spectrum News)

ALSO: Texas grid officials look for ways to store up non-renewable energy in anticipation of extreme winter weather and memories of the 2021 winter storm that caused widespread outages. (KTRK)

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SOLAR:

• Dominion Energy asks Virginia regulators to approve its plans to build six solar plants and enter into 13 power purchase agreements totaling 772 MW as it aims to take advantage of federal clean energy incentives. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Reuters)
• A Turkish company buys a 232 MW solar farm with a 60 MW battery storage facility planned for Texas. (Renewables Now)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority solicits public feedback on its plan to purchase power from a 50 MW solar facility in Tennessee. (Paris Post-Intelligencer)

STORAGE:

• Toyota ramps up hiring and training at its planned $5.9 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in North Carolina. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• An official from a Norwegian battery company discusses its plans to build a $2.57 billion battery factory in Georgia over the next six years. (Newnan Times-Herald)

OIL & GAS: Texas regulators are giving the public one month to comment on draft rules over the handling of hazardous oilfield waste, but documents and interviews reveal the oil and gas industry spent nearly two years helping to craft those rules. (Texas Tribune)

PIPELINES:

• A natural gas pipeline in Arkansas explodes, sending a plume of fire nearly 300 feet high and resulting in the evacuation of nearby residents. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• Oklahoma farmers are still upset years after construction of a 200-mile pipeline across the state damaged their land. (KWTV)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A Toyota parts supplier announces it will build a $225 million Kentucky factory to support the automaker’s planned electric vehicle plant. (news release)
• The discovery of a Nevada lithium deposit could drive faster consumer adoption of electric vehicles and the further acceleration of Tennessee’s booming EV industry. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
• A Georgia city begins planning infrastructure improvements and training to operate an all-electric bus fleet after receiving $6.2 million in federal funding to shift from diesel. (Augusta Chronicle)

WIND: A Texas resident appeals her challenge of a $10 million tax break for a neighboring wind farm to a state appeals court after a trial court dismissed her suit. (Bloomberg, subscription)

UTILITIES:

• Leaders of Memphis, Tennessee’s municipal utility propose raising power rates 12% over the next three years to fund improvements to fix the city’s crisis of electrical interruptions. (Commercial Appeal)
• Florida’s NextEra Energy sees its stock drop roughly 25% in a week, due largely to utilities’ sensitivity to rising interest rates because of their reliance on debt financing. (Forbes)

CLIMATE: New Orleans officials scramble to shore up drinking water supplies as a wedge of saltwater pushes up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. (ABC News)