Trump fast tracks fossil fuels amid clean energy chaos

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POLITICS

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fast-tracks permitting for certain fossil fuel projects, including a Louisiana gas liquefaction and export facility and a deepwater crude oil export terminal off the Gulf Coast. (New York Times; E&E News, subscription)

• Companies investing in clean energy manufacturing in Mississippi, West Virginia and beyond have been thrown into disarray and are considering canceling their plans due to Trump’s rollback of tax credits and federal spending, as well as his threatened tariffs. (New York Times)

• Louisiana business leaders express wariness about the Trump administration’s rollback of funding for renewables and its potential consequences for $45 billion in clean energy projects announced in the last five years. (NOLA.com)

SOLAR

• A Houston-based rooftop solar and battery storage company lays off nearly 300 workers, or about 15% of its workforce, largely in its commercial divisions. (Houston Chronicle)

• Duke Energy celebrates the construction of 10 Florida solar farms totaling 750 MW, which it first proposed in 2022. (news release)

• A Virginia county board votes to cap energy projects at 10% of the county’s land and utility-scale solar projects to 7%, and to require a vegetative buffer around solar farms. (Smithfield Times)

STORAGE

• A Texas company installs low-cost battery storage systems by charging an annual membership fee and becoming the customer’s electricity plan provider. (Houston Chronicle)

• A company that recently canceled plans to build a $2.6 billion battery plant in Georgia is rebranding itself as a ​“solar + battery storage leader” that will operate a Texas solar panel factory. (Electrek)

FOSSIL FUELS

The Tennessee Valley Authority announces plans to build a 500 MW gas-fired power plant in Mississippi. (American Public Power Association)

OVERSIGHT

Kentucky lawmakers advance a bill to restrict officials from considering evidence gathered by citizens and community groups during proceedings to enforce air pollution rules. (Kentucky Lantern)

GRID

• The Texas Supreme Court considers whether to allow lawsuits against utilities by the families of people who were killed or injured during widespread outages during the 2021 winter storm. (Houston Chronicle)

• The Tennessee Valley Authority pushes back on social media posts claiming it plans to cut power amid cold weather this week, saying the posts in question stem from blackouts during Winter Storm Elliott in 2022. (WZDX)

UTILITIES

According to its latest earnings call, Duke Energy made $4.4 billion in profits last year despite damage from Hurricane Helene and a slight drop in residential energy use. (WFAE)

COMMENTARY

• The antiquated contract Memphis, Tennessee’s municipal utility has with the Tennessee Valley Authority lacks a provision allowing it to generate its own power, hampering its push to build a solar energy system, writes a professor. (Tennessee Lookout)

• A Virginia Democrat who was the deciding vote against creating a board that might overrule local governments on solar development represents a district that has lots of power-hungry data centers, but also rural residents concerned about solar development, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)