Texas boosts microgrids with $1.8 billion

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GRID

• Texas lawmakers approve a $1.8 billion fund to boost the power grid by supporting the deployment of microgrids at hospitals, nursing homes, water treatment plants, police and fire stations, and other critical facilities. (Canary Media)

• Battery storage has grown so much the Texas state grid operator projects a less than 1% chance it will have to implement rolling blackouts during peak August heat this year, but it warns the proposed rollback of clean energy tax credits could damage its ability to keep up with demand. (San Antonio Express-News)

RECYCLING

• U.S. battery recyclers — including a Georgia facility that has become the nation’s first new lithium carbonate producer in years — face ​“a limbo moment” because the Trump administration has endorsed efforts to produce critical minerals while also threatening tariffs and the repeal of clean energy tax credits. (Grist)

• Solar panel manufacturer Qcells forms a new company to recycle up to 500,000 panels annually at a new facility next to its Georgia factory. (Capitol Beat News Service)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Congressional Republicans’ proposed rollback of clean energy tax credits threaten announced investment and jobs in largely GOP-led areas — including more than $23.9 billion in new investments and more than 32,000 new jobs in Georgia alone — but many voters have yet to make the connection between the tax credits and projects still under construction. (New York Times)

• The Solar Energy Industries Association warns the threatened Republican rollback of clean energy tax credits would result in the loss of 3,300 existing and potential jobs in Kentucky as the state struggles to grow its solar and battery manufacturing. (Kentucky Lantern)

HYDROGEN

• A hydrogen company has fallen behind on its plans to build a Louisiana facility as projected costs have swelled from $4.5 billion to more than $8 billion, offering a snapshot of how low-carbon hydrogen has fallen by the wayside as Trump champions oil and gas instead. (Wall Street Journal)

CARBON CAPTURE

• A California-based carbon capture company that’s building a Louisiana facility has so far preserved its federal funding and navigated partisan politics by appealing to Republicans with the promise of jobs and heavy industry in their districts and to Democrats with the prospect of reducing climate change. (Politico)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Tennessee residents push back on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s proposal to build a 900 MW gas-fired power plant with associated lithium battery storage, transmission lines, and pipelines. (WZTV)

• A new report finds it was 28% more expensive to burn coal in 2024 than it was in 2021, with costs rising between 9% and 162% at eight West Virginia coal-fired power plants. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Shares of Texas-based Tesla are down 24% for the year so far, with the blowup between CEO Elon Musk and Trump accelerating its losses. (Houston Chronicle)

UTILITIES

• Advocates call for three Georgia regulators to recuse themselves from consideration of a proposed agreement to freeze Georgia Power’s rates because they say those commissioners publicly endorsed the proposal ahead of an upcoming hearing. (Georgia Recorder)

POLITICS

• Congress debates the rollback of clean energy tax credits in Trump’s ​“big beautiful bill,” as 13 House Republicans led by Virginia U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans call for adjustments while North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis says ​“every one of [the credits] is going to have some sort of extension” in the Senate’s version. (E&E News)

• Voter turnout stands at just 0.5% in early voting in party primaries for two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission, which closes Friday. (Georgia Recorder)

COMMENTARY

• Republican Congress members’ attempt to repeal the Solar Investment Tax Credit and other clean energy incentives would increase families’ power bills, cause job reductions, and make it harder to power data centers, writes the owner and founder of Convert Solar LLC. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

• Florida regulators should delay approval of Florida Power & Light’s request for a nearly 30% rate increase to instead prioritize consumer protection and long-term value, writes the Florida director of the Environmental Defense Fund. (The Invading Sea)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Ohio passes a law to require utilities and regulators to consider how new technology can shore up the state’s electric grid, Kathiann M. Kowalski reports.