Texas grid shortfall on the horizon

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GRID

• Texas’ grid operator projects a possible 8.3% power supply shortfall by 2027 that could surge to 32.4% by 2029 due to growing demand from data centers. (Texas Tribune)

• More than 120,000 Virginia households still don’t have power after a winter storm knocked out power to more than 200,000 across the state earlier this week. (WDBJ)

• Georgia lawmakers consider legislation to charge data centers for infrastructure to meet their soaring power needs, instead of passing the costs through utilities to ratepayers. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)

SOLAR

• Trump’s order freezing climate funding jeopardizes $400 million to expand rooftop solar and battery installations in disadvantaged Texas communities. (Houston Chronicle)

• A company completes construction of a 300 MW Texas solar farm that will provide power to Honda and Tesla. (Solar Power World)

• A Virginia zoning board grants an extension to give more time to a company for a proposed solar farm that was originally approved in 2020 but still hasn’t been built. (Danville Register & Bee)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A company that makes materials to suppress electric vehicle fires announces it will halt construction of a new factory in Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)

• A South Carolina lawmaker files a bill to block utilities from billing customers for electric vehicle chargers in an attempt to incentivize gas stations and convenience stores to build their own. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)

STORAGE

Virginia lawmakers approve bills to require Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to triple their battery storage capacity from a combined 3,100 MW to 10,000 MW. (Virginia Mercury)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Entergy, Kinder Morgan and a liquified natural gas terminal agree on a deal to build a $1.7 billion, 216-mile gas pipeline from the Permian Basin to southeast Texas. (Inside Climate News)

• An activist investment firm has built up a $2.5 billion stake in Phillips 66 with plans to push the oil and gas company to focus on refining, cut costs and raise its share price. (Houston Chronicle)

• Kentucky lawmakers advance a bill backed by the state’s coal industry to limit regulators’ oversight and allow more water pollution. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

WIND

A 49-turbine wind farm in Oklahoma agrees to sell 115 MW to Facebook parent company Meta for electrification and artificial intelligence projects. (StateImpact Oklahoma)

NUCLEAR

Oklahoma lawmakers advance legislation to study nuclear generation in the state, and introduce measures to guide the transition from coal to gas and nuclear power. (StateImpact Oklahoma)

UTILITIES

• Trump’s executive order freezing bipartisan infrastructure law funding blocks a $1 million program to help low-income Alabama residents pay utility bills, meaning that some customers will have to repay $100 credits they had already received. (Inside Climate News)

• Three Virginia senators ask state regulators to remove Appalachian Power’s monopoly status in parts of Virginia or to remove it altogether to allow for power sales competition to combat soaring bills. (Cardinal News)

• Virginia regulators order Appalachian Power to work with a nonprofit to help customers catch up on late payments before they’re disconnected. (Cardinal News)

• A Tennessee Valley Authority team has been working since last year to reorganize the federal utility’s staffing structure and cut $500 million in operational costs to support spending $16 billion on new power plants and grid improvements. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

COMMENTARY

South Carolina leaders should look to Georgia and consider adopting similar rules to restrict utilities from billing ratepayers to cover costs related to new data centers, writes an editorial board. (Post and Courier)