Texas lawmakers punt orphaned oil and gas well bill

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FOSSIL FUELS

• A Texas legislative committee puts off a bill to give state regulators more authority over oil and gas companies and set a deadline to plug the more than 150,000 inactive wells in Texas over the next 15 years, telling its sponsor to come back when he’s addressed concerns about strain on smaller operators. (Texas Tribune)

• Virginia county residents discuss a company’s proposal to build a data center campus powered by a gas-fired plant, with many residents opposed but local officials interested in potential revenue. (Altavista Journal)

• West Virginia lawmakers introduce legislation to press utilities to run their coal plants more, claiming that doing so will reduce power prices and boost coal mining employment. (WBOY)

• Experts say the Trump administration is taking aim at environmental regulations in an effort to preserve dozens of coal plants set for retirement in coming years. (E&E News)

WIND

• Workers complete construction of a $223 million offshore wind equipment hub in Virginia to provide capacity for Dominion Energy to store and transfer turbines and foundations at its planned 2.6 GW offshore wind farm. (WHRO)

ACTIVISM

• Officials at a Louisiana environmental justice nonprofit and other advocacy groups express concerns the Trump administration might target them with audits and lawsuits for speaking out. (Floodlight)

SOLAR

• A company breaks ground on a 100 MW solar farm in Arkansas that will provide power to an unspecified tech company. (PV Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A UK-based electric sports car manufacturer says its new Virginia factory should be open by August. (Cardinal News)

CARBON CAPTURE

• A Louisiana parish board asks state regulators to delay approving new carbon capture wells until after the state legislative session so that companies must comply with any new laws. (KPLC)

NUCLEAR

• The Tennessee Valley Authority temporarily removes a unit from service at an Alabama nuclear power plant for refueling and maintenance. (News Courier)

POLITICS

• Georgia faces significant economic disruption from the Trump administration, not just because of its concentration of clean-energy investment, but because it’s coming off its fourth straight record year for international trade, largely with countries targeted by the president for tariffs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announces plans to roll back nearly every important climate policy on the books, including recent pollution standards that target coal- and new gas-fired plants. (E&E News, WV News)

UTILITIES

• The North Carolina Senate passes legislation to eliminate a 2030 carbon reduction deadline for Duke Energy, though it leaves in place a requirement the utility reach carbon neutrality by 2050. (Winston-Salem Journal)

• The Tennessee Valley Authority greets hundreds of employees who are returning to in-person work after a Trump executive order with a renovated office tower in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

COMMENTARY

• Louisiana is pioneering an approach to enhance grid reliability and increase access to renewables by using private investment to fund such projects instead of committing ratepayer money, writes the director of Conservatives for Clean Energy Louisiana. (NOLA.com)

• Congress should renew the Nuclear Production Tax Credit to ensure continued operation of South Carolina’s seven nuclear power plants, especially as data centers and manufacturing grow, writes the president of a local chamber of commerce. (Post and Courier)