Trump’s clean energy halt causes confusion across Southeast

POLITICS: Trump’s now-paused order freezing funding from clean energy programs causes confusion across the Southeast over how it will affect money for solar installations and electric vehicle chargers, but the president’s supporters are applauding the order even in places where projects may be at risk. (Tampa Bay Times, West Virginia Watch)

ALSO:

• Virginia Republicans identify rising electric bills and the state’s clean energy laws as a likely issue in this year’s campaign for governor after hearing legislative testimony about $800 monthly bills. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he supports clawing back money from former President Biden’s infrastructure and climate packages to pay for Trump’s border control and deportation plans. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)

WIND:

• President Trump’s actions against wind energy development might actually benefit Texas’ wind industry because the vast majority of its projects are located on private and not federal land, says the director of a university energy institute. (Texas Standard)
• An energy developer says Trump’s order halting new wind development won’t affect its long-delayed onshore wind farm in Virginia because the project already has all its federal approvals. (Roanoke Times)

PIPELINES: An appeals court rules a judge made a mistake when she relied upon the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s appraisal of land values when deciding how much money should be awarded to four Virginia landowners whose property was taken for the project. (Roanoke Times)

GRID:

• An Arkansas coroner preemptively moves bodies to other funeral homes after receiving a notice Entergy would cut off power because the county failed to pay its power bills. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• A North Carolina couple finally sees their power restored four months after Hurricane Helene struck the mountainous region, illustrating the difficulty crews are encountering as they seek to restore service. (Asheville Citizen-Times)

STORAGE: An energy storage company secures a $243 million investment to develop three battery projects in Texas totaling 490 MW. (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: A Texas city council considers an oil-and-gas company’s plans to add more gas wells to a drilling site near a daycare center. (WFAA)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Tennessee’s burgeoning electric vehicle manufacturing industry faces uncertainty as Trump blocks the disbursement of funding connected to EVs and clean energy. (Tennessee Lookout)
• Texas has doubled its number of electric vehicle charging stations over the last four years, but Trump’s order to halt spending could threaten plans to add more. (Axios)

EMISSIONS: Florida residents organize against Miami-Dade County’s plan to build a $1.5 billion waste-to-energy facility to replace a trash incinerator. (Washington Post)

UTILITIES:

• Virginia lawmakers advance legislation aimed at lowering Appalachian Power’s bills by requiring state regulators to review its rates more often and to add consumer protections against certain costs. (Cardinal News)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority names a longtime employee as its new chief financial officer. (news release)