Volkswagen drops EVs at Tennessee factory

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Volkswagen announces it will cease production of electric vehicles at its Tennessee factory and instead focus on models that sell at a higher volume. (Chattanooga Times Free Press, New York Times)

• A Texas county board votes to withhold 9% of Tesla’s tax rebate for 2020-2022 due to noncompliance with provisions in its economic incentive deal at its Gigafactory. (KUT)

GEOTHERMAL

• Houston-based startup Fervo Energy signs a three-year contract with Turboden America to secure 1.75 GW of turbine capacity as it builds a pilot project in Utah that’s scheduled to begin producing power this year. (Canary Media)

COAL

• The Trump administration announces it will roll back a 2024 rule requiring companies to monitor coal ash storage sites at inactive power plants, which environments say will threaten water supplies for millions of people. (New York Times, Guardian)

• Federal regulators indefinitely delay the implementation of a workplace rule to monitor and cut permissible limits of silica dust to reduce black lung in coal miners, saying they’ll wait until a federal court case plays out. (West Virginia Watch)

• The Trump administration has announced rule changes to boost the coal industry, but solar in March still nearly surpassed coal for national energy production. (WEKU)

• Dominion Energy asks Virginia regulators for a rate increase to pay for more than $200 million in planned coal ash cleanup. (VPM)

WIND

• The Trump administration misses a key deadline to appeal federal courts’ decisions to allow construction to move forward on five offshore wind farms, including Dominion Energy’s project off Virginia. (Grist)

GRID

• Georgia regulators sign off on a program to allow commercial and industrial companies to pay a monthly tariff to Georgia Power to bypass the utility and contract directly with renewable energy developers, with any excess power going to the power grid. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• Texas’ grid operator considers a proposal that would incentivize data centers to either build their own power generation or promise to reduce their power usage during times in high demand in return for a faster grid connection. (Houston Chronicle)

• A bill passed by Virginia legislators to require major utilities to gather and disclose grid utilization data is on track to become law. (Utility Dive)

• A Virginia county board votes to formally oppose Dominion Energy’s plan to build a 115-mile, 765 kV transmission line across nine counties. (Richmond Times-Dipatch, WWBT)

• Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs a bill directing Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to create a voluntary demand flexibility program for high-load customers. (Virginia Mercury)

NUCLEAR

• Tennessee, Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah tell the federal government they’re interested in hosting nuclear energy projects, including waste storage facilities. (Axios)

• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signs legislation to award grant funding for site development and licensing of nuclear energy facilities, saying it will help lower power bills. (WOWK)

OIL & GAS

• Texas produced nearly half of all U.S. oil last year despite drilling fewer new wells, helping keep the national supply steady through global disruption from the war in Iran. (Texas Tribune)

• NextDecade Corp. asks federal regulators for permission to add more workers and expand to round-the-clock construction as it builds a liquified natural gas export terminal in Texas. (Rio Grande Valley Business Journal)

• Seven Democratic U.S. senators launch an investigation into a $370 million ​“alternative fuel” payout to liquified natural gas producer Cheniere Energy to power its tankers with LNG. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES

• The South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association wins formal approval to withdraw from powering nearly 300 remote camp communities in coastal Louisiana after Hurricane Ida damaged its equipment, and is pushing to abandon three other communities as well. (Times-Picayune)

• Advocates breathe a sigh of relief after President Trump’s new budget does not include provisions to sell off the Tennessee Valley Authority’s assets to private entities. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• Some West Virginians receive utility bills that eclipse their rents and mortgages, forcing them to make tough decisions. (Associated Press)

DATA CENTERS

• Georgia lawmakers end their legislative session without passing any laws to phase out tax credits for data centers or to codify existing Public Service Commission regulations on the facilities. (Georgia Recorder, Inside Climate News)