Trump redirects Puerto Rico solar funds to fossil fuels

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

GRID

• Documents reveal how the Trump administration revamped a Biden-era plan to distribute $1 billion to 40,000 low-income Puerto Rico residents for solar and battery systems, and instead directed the funding to a bankrupt utility to shore up its largely fossil fuel-based power plants. (Grist)

• Federal regulators give six major grid operators 60 days to develop or justify rules to govern how data centers and other large-load customers will obtain power and connect to the grid. (Inside Climate News)

• Texas regulators temporarily halt the approval process for the first in a series of five major transmission proposals that represent 3,400 miles and could cost ratepayers at least $33 billion. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• NextEra Energy agrees to pay $150 million to settle charges related to its Florida political interference scandal ahead of its proposed merger with Dominion Energy. (Utility Dive)

• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) names four new members to the state Public Service Commission, expanding the board beyond its three elected commissioners. (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES

• The Mountain Valley Pipeline hits a delay in its plan to build a new compressor in Virginia because it must re-apply for a state permit over a discrepancy involving a local county. (Roanoke Times)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A North Carolina power commissioner who has opposed expanding new solar and other energy resources in favor of backing coal will sit out the board’s decision on Duke Energy’s carbon plan and requested rate hike, due to objections to his participation after missing previous meetings. (WFAE)

• Coal plants in North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee that are set to receive federal funding meant to extend their lives have been repeatedly cited for violating clean air and water statutes. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR

• Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs a law to define agrivoltaics and encourage more use of the projects that blend solar generation and farming. (LoudounNow)

• Texas’ Treaty Oak Clean Energy begins operations at a 100-MW solar farm in Arkansas, with plans to build more in that state, Louisiana, and the South. (Arkansas Business)

• A Mississippi tax assessor warns of a 2025 state law that lowers the taxable value for solar farms and its potential effects for local budgets. (Daily Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Investors and analysts speculate Elon Musk may take advantage of Texas’ corporate law to merge Tesla and SpaceX into a $4 trillion conglomerate. (New York Times)

DATA CENTERS

• The Public Utility Commission of Texas gives final approval for stricter standards for data centers to connect to the state’s standalone power grid. (Houston Public Media, Texas Tribune)

• The Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter calls for a statewide pause on data centers because of their use of fossil fuels and effect on the state budget due to a key tax break. (news release)

COMMENTARY

• A Kentucky editor compares data centers’ use of land, water, and energy resources while benefitting from tax incentives and lax regulation to the legacy of the coal industry that has beleaguered the region. (Kentucky Lantern)s