Virginia lawmakers consider ways to overcome local solar resistance

ALSO:

• Virginia regulators order utilities to accelerate the process of connecting shared solar projects to the grid, and to lessen costs for customers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A Virginia solar advocacy group campaigns to expand its co-op program in Richmond and Hampton Roads. (Virginia Mercury)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee’s utility reaches an agreement to purchase up to 33 MW of solar power from Nashville-based Silicon Ranch beginning in 2028. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Electric vehicle maker Rivian appears likely to restart construction of its Georgia factory after receiving a nearly $6 billion federal loan, resparking tension for Republican leaders between applauding the company’s investment and criticizing federal support for clean energy. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Nissan moves to cut production at its Mississippi and Tennessee factories amid declining sales and the dissolution of its partnership with an electric vehicle company. (Tennessean)

GRID:

• Georgia Power expects electricity demand could triple by the mid-2030s, driven largely by data center construction. (Georgia Recorder)
• As South Carolina utilities propose spending billions and raising rates to keep up with escalating demand, a Virginia report shows data centers are almost single-handedly driving the increase. (Post and Courier)

POLITICS:

• More than 40,000 Alabama residents chose to write in a candidate instead of the unopposed Republican running as the state’s top utility regulator, suggesting discontent over rising electric rates. (Inside Climate News)
• Virginia lawmakers gear up to discuss data centers, climate goals and local regulation of solar farms in the 2025 legislative session. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COMMENTARY:

• Virginia lawmakers’ hands-off approach to data centers has created a crisis in which the sector is straining the state’s power and water resources and is wrecking quality of life for nearby residents, writes an environmentalist. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Virginia must impose restrictions on the booming data center sector if state officials wish to attain their clean energy goals, writes a professor. (Virginia Mercury)