TVA defies critics, will replace coal with natural gas

OIL & GAS: The Tennessee Valley Authority defies critics, clean energy advocates and federal officials by announcing it will stick with fossil fuels and replace a retiring coal plant with a 1,450 MW natural gas plant. (WPLN, Knoxville News Sentinel)

ALSO:
• Clean energy advocates fight an uphill battle to push Duke Energy away from its plan to build 3 GW of new gas-fired power plants to meet a state mandate to cut its carbon emissions by 70% by 2030. (Canary Media)
• A Texas school district approves a property tax break for a planned $5.6 billion oil refinery. (Victoria Advocate)
• An energy company applies for federal approval of a natural gas pipeline in Texas that will cross the Mexican border and eventually connect to a West Coast export terminal. (Big Bend Sentinel)

SOLAR:
• A Georgia county considers a proposed 325 MW solar farm. (McDuffie Progress)
• A Virginia county board rejects a permit for a 90 MW solar farm after its planning commission finds it doesn’t conform with the county’s comprehensive plan. (Mecklenburg Sun)
• A Louisiana parish passes an ordinance to regulate the placement and operation of industrial solar and wind facilities. (The Advocate)
• Tennessee solar developer Silicon Ranch raises $600 million in equity investment on the strength of its independent, holistic business model. (Canary Media)
• Dominion Energy signs an agreement to purchase 108 MW of power from a South Carolina solar facility. (PV Magazine)

GRID:
• A Texas commission votes to recommend state lawmakers boost staffing and pay for the regulatory agency that oversees the power grid manager. (Texas Tribune)
• An energy company abruptly cancels a mitigation meeting with Texas residents opposed to its plans for a substation when a news crew arrives. (KRIV)
• A West Virginia energy department official briefs state lawmakers on plans for grid upgrades. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

NUCLEAR: Georgia Power delays opening of Plant Vogtle’s third reactor after finding a vibrating pipe in the cooling system during testing. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Tesla filings with Texas show the company plans to spend more than $770 million expanding its electric vehicle factory in Austin this year. (CNBC)
• Analysts read a Tesla job posting as possible confirmation of its plans to build a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refinery in Texas. (Laredo Morning Times)

HYDROGEN: An Appalachian coalition pursuing a regional hydrogen hub says the U.S. Department of Energy has encouraged it to submit a full application. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

CLIMATE: A recent study ranks last year’s Hurricane Ian and its estimated $112.9 billion in damage as the third most expensive hurricane in U.S. history. (NOLA.com)

COMMENTARY:
• Last month’s rolling blackouts implemented by Duke Energy point to fossil fuel plant failures and the need for energy market reform in the Southeast, writes a former North Carolina lawmaker. (Energy News Network)
• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper argues that increasingly extreme weather and equipment failures at aging fossil fuel plants point to the need for more renewable energy. (news release)
• Residents of Memphis, Tennessee, should not take the regional grid’s difficulties during last month’s cold snap as a sign the municipal utility should rush to embrace the Tennessee Valley Authority, writes an environmental consultant. (Commercial Appeal)