Texas pipeline company threatens power grid with ​“monopoly abuse”

GRID: A company operating Texas intrastate pipelines uses hardball negotiating tactics and exemption from federal oversight to reap profits and wield disproportionate power on the state’s electric grid in what one watchdog calls ​“monopoly abuse.” (Bloomberg)

ALSO:

• Entergy’s public campaign to rebuild the power grid in New Orleans after Hurricane Idalia by billing ratepayers up to $1 billion runs into opposition by a city council that’s unwilling to put that cost on residents. (NOLA.com)
• Federal officials select Puerto Rican community groups and nonprofits to receive up to $13.85 million to connect vulnerable households to residential solar and battery storage. (Daily Energy Insider)

RENEWABLES: An energy transition expert credits Texas’ history of doing ​“all the right things for all of the wrong reasons” for a renewables surge that has made it the nation’s largest producer of wind and solar power. (PBS NewsHour)

SOLAR:

• A company gears up to build two 80 MW solar farms in an Alabama county. (WSFA)
• A company that makes private jets plans to use solar panels to provide one-quarter of the power for its Georgia research and development facility. (Savannah Morning News)
• Florida’s attorney general files lawsuits against two solar companies accused of deceiving customers. (WFLA)
• A South Carolina county approves a $60 million Duke Energy solar farm. (WPDE)
• Virginia residents voice opposition against a proposed 100 MW solar farm because they say it will threaten farmers, hunters and their quality of life. (WRIC)

WIND: A company begins operation of a 265.5 MW wind farm in Texas. (news release)

CARBON CAPTURE: Louisiana residents continue their fight against a proposed carbon capture project beneath a beloved recreational lake as local officials move to adopt guidelines for injection wells used in such projects. (The Advocate)

STORAGE: A pair of companies begin construction on 10 battery storage projects in Texas with a combined capacity of 100 MW. (Renewables Now)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new study finds Texans remain largely uninterested in electric vehicles despite new federal tax credits. (Houston Chronicle)

EMISSIONS: Oklahoma’s environmental agency applies for up to $500 million in federal grants to reduce air pollution. (Oklahoman)

OIL & GAS:

• The U.S. Coast Guard investigates a suspected fuel spill in a Florida bayou. (WFLA)
• Oklahoma Natural Gas launches a program that lets customers purchase renewable natural gas using methane derived from organic materials like animal waste. (KXII)

COAL: Kentucky officials blast U.S. climate envoy John Kerry for announcing the U.S. would join other countries in phasing out coal-fired power plants. (WYMT)

CLIMATE: North Carolina begins off-season beach building to restore its coastlines against erosion and rising seas, but environmentalists criticize the practice as a short-term fix intended more to protect valuable property and tourism. (Wilmington StarNews)

UTILITIES: Georgia regulators consider raising Georgia Power’s rates to cover the cost of its bloated nuclear Plant Vogtle expansion, even as the regulatory board faces uncertainty amid a Voting Rights Act lawsuit. (Georgia Recorder, Jackson Progress-Argus)

COMMENTARY: Dominion Energy’s new interconnection rules threaten solar development, but Virginia lawmakers can easily alleviate the problem by clarifying who’s responsible for safety and interconnection costs, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)