Virginia solar industry caught off guard by new runoff rules

SOLAR: Virginia regulators abruptly roll out major changes to how they’ll manage stormwater runoff from solar farms, catching the industry off guard. (Virginia Mercury)

ALSO: Arkansas officials break ground on a 499 kW solar facility for a school district. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The EPA opens investigations of whether two Louisiana agencies discriminated against Black residents when they granted permits for chemical plants and a grain terminal in the ​“Cancer Alley” corridor. (NOLA.com, Guardian)

CARBON CAPTURE: Louisiana has seen more than $6 billion in announced carbon capture projects over the past year, due largely to federal funding, a governor focused on reducing emissions and necessary geological formations. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser)

BIOGAS: North Carolina’s utilities commission reports that poultry and swine waste-to-energy projects have failed to meet their energy targets, throwing into question the state’s planned integration of biogas into its energy mix. (Inside Climate News)

WIND: Charter boat captains and fishermen fret that development of offshore wind energy in North Carolina may ruin their business. (Wilmington StarNews)

CLIMATE:
• Houston’s construction of a $30 billion storm protection project will dwarf a similar coastal barrier in New Orleans, but may still inadequately protect against intensifying hurricanes. (NOLA.com)
• Coastal cities like Charleston, South Carolina, which faces $3 billion in climate change-related costs, consider suing fossil fuel companies to recoup their expenses. (WTOP)

COAL:
• Enforcement data and internal documents show Kentucky coal companies have racked up a growing number of surface mine violations since 2013, while state regulators have largely failed to bring them into compliance. (Inside Climate News)
• Officials in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are moving forward with a plan to build office space and affordable housing on top of buried coal ash. (NC Policy Watch)
• An energy company announces it will build a new coal processing plant in West Virginia. (State Journal)

OIL & GAS: Leaders of oil and gas trade associations say Texas’ 417,513 miles of intrastate oil and gas pipelines won’t be sufficient for future needs. (Odessa American)

NUCLEAR: West Virginia looks to attract smaller, more modern nuclear reactors designed to generate 300 MW or less. (State Journal)

TRANSITION: Officials in a Florida city approve a deal with a contractor who will pay more than $1.2 million for scrap metal from the demolition of three decommissioned power plants. (The Ledger)

POLITICS: Former Trump EPA chief Scott Pruitt, who faced 14 separate federal ethics investigations when he resigned in 2018, files to run for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma. (Salon)

COMMENTARY:
• A new surge in activism and development of solar farms might finally pry loose coal’s grip on energy and politics in West Virginia, writes an opinion writer. (Triple Pundit)
• Houston-area businesses and nonprofits are betting on hydrogen to enable the city to retain its crown as a global energy capital even as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, writes an energy columnist. (Houston Chronicle)