Utilities’ natural gas push could delay clean energy transition

OIL & GAS: Tennessee Valley Authority, Duke Energy and Georgia Power — three of the Southeast’s biggest utilities — want to build more natural gas-fired power into their long range plans, despite the Biden administration’s hopes for more carbon-free energy. (E&E News)

ALSO:

• Louisiana’s planned Calcasieu Pass 2 liquified natural gas export terminal becomes a flashpoint in climate activists’ push against the Biden administration’s backing of natural gas exports. (Canary Media)
• Gulf Coast liquified natural gas exporters canceled multiple cargoes and sold them at home when last week’s extreme cold disrupted terminal operations and caused domestic prices to spike. (S&P Global)
• Congress members and environmental groups argue the Mountain Valley Pipeline must file a new application for its reworked Southgate spur into North Carolina, especially after adding a new customer an analyst suggests is Duke Energy. (Greensboro News & Record)

OVERSIGHT:

• Virginia lawmakers are set to vote to fill two vacant seats on the state’s powerful three-person regulatory board, but haven’t yet identified the finalists. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Virginia county officials who recently approved local ordinances to guide or limit solar development oppose new legislation to shift oversight for large solar, wind and battery projects to a state board. (Farmville Herald)

UTILITIES:

• Duke Energy moves to reorganize after selling off its commercial renewables business and becoming a fully regulated utility, with layoffs likely to result. (Charlotte Observer)
• Dozens of Louisiana residents attend a meeting to learn more about a utility’s new smart meter program. (KSLA)

SOLAR:

• Dozens of speakers unanimously oppose a proposal by FirstEnergy’s West Virginia subsidiaries to halve net-metering rates for customers who produce solar energy. (Dominion Post)
• Kentucky residents express health and environmental concerns about a planned 120 MW solar farm. (WPSD)
• San Antonio, Texas’ municipal utility enters an agreement to obtain power sourced from a 150 MW solar farm. (San Antonio Report)
• Federal clean energy grants will go to pay for the installation of 96 kW and 144 kW solar arrays at two rural Arkansas businesses. (KATV)

EFFICIENCY: A Democratic West Virginia lawmaker spotlights job creation in an effort to win more support for legislation to spur energy efficiency programs in the state. (Mountain State Spotlight)

WIND: A Virginia judge dismisses lawsuits trying to block a planned 13-turbine wind farm atop a mountain. (Roanoke Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Virginia moves to reform its review of sites for large economic development projects after a sprawling 3,500-acre site was passed over by multiple electric vehicle and battery projects. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry joins with 15 other GOP governors to complain about the Biden administration’s goal of shifting to electric vehicles, but their letter is laden with misinformation. (Louisiana Illuminator)

CLEAN ENERGY: A Virginia commission to promote economic growth in former tobacco-producing areas announces a matching grant program that could deliver up to $12 million for ​“high-impact” energy projects. (Cardinal News)