Why EVs could still thrive

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Southeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Clean energy advocates remain cautiously optimistic that enthusiastic consumers and the spread of publicly accessible charging ports will help sustain growth of the electric vehicle and battery industries despite Republican attacks. (Canary Media)

• Georgia, Virginia, and 10 other states will change their rules to prohibit solo electric vehicle and hybrid drivers from driving in high-occupancy vehicle lanes during peak traffic hours beginning today. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Axios)

GRID

• Virginia leads the U.S. in data center development, but although state lawmakers filed 33 bills last session to address the sector and its demand for power, only four made it into law while the rest failed due to opposition from tech companies, local governments, labor unions, and the Republican governor. (Inside Climate News)

• OpenAI announces it will build five more data centers to accompany its flagship Texas facility, including two more in Texas, one in New Mexico, and two in the Midwest. (Associated Press)

• The Permian Basin Petroleum Association hosts a panel to discuss the need to build out more electric infrastructure from the oil-and-gas-producing region. (Houston Chronicle)

• West Virginia officials consider developing a comprehensive pole attachment database to smooth disputes between utility companies and internet service providers, but warn it could cost as much as $8 million. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

• The Fort Worth, Texas, city council unanimously approves Black Mountain Power’s request to rezone land so it can break ground on a data center despite neighborhood concerns about noise pollution and property values. (Fort Worth Report)

• A Virginia county planning board votes to create a technology overlay district and technology zoning designation to attract data centers and power generation facilities like gas peaker plants and small nuclear reactors. (Virginia Mercury)

RECYCLING

• Aurubis Richmond, a nearly $800 million recycling facility in Augusta, Georgia, begins smelting common and rare minerals for reuse in electric vehicles, data centers, and energy infrastructure. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Vistra announces it’ll build two new gas power plants totaling 860 MW to expand capacity at its 325-MW Permian Basin Power Plant in Texas, as well as a 20-year power purchase agreement with an unnamed company that it’ll provide from its Comanche nuclear power plant in Texas. (Utility Dive)

• LandBridge Company and NRG Energy partner on plans to build a 1,100 MW gas-fired power plant and transmission infrastructure for a potential data center site in Texas. (Houston Chronicle)

• The Trump administration launches leasing auctions for 14,000 acres of coal mining land in Alabama, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. (Reuters)

• West Virginia officials herald the Trump administration’s announcement of $625 million to boost the coal industry. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

PIPELINES

• West Virginia officials learn the tentative assessed values for the state’s public utilities have increased about 10%, primarily because of the Mountain Valley Pipeline becoming operational. (WV Metro News)

OVERSIGHT

• The College of William & Mary Law School in Virginia announces a new Center for Energy Law & Policy to be led by former FERC chair Mark Christie. (Cardinal News)

• Four-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Jon Rosenthal announces he’ll run for the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, rather than seek re-election to Congress next year. (Texas Tribune)

SOLAR

• Vesper Energy’s Texas solar farm uses more than 2,000 sheep and 11 dogs to maintain vegetation, leading the company to consider expanding the practice. (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

NUCLEAR

• Tennessee’s Chattanooga State Community College has expanded its nuclear power concentration in anticipation of growing demand as a growing number of communities consider building modular nuclear power plants. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• Arkansas lawmakers approve a contract to hire a consultant to study the feasibility of building more nuclear energy facilities to address growing power demand. (Mountain Home Observer)

COMMENTARY

• President Trump’s moves to exempt oil and gas operators from reporting their methane emissions and to dismantle climate policy is hobbling Texas solar, wind, and battery companies — effectively boosting China, writes a columnist. (Houston Chronicle)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• US hydropower is at a make-or-break moment — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Interconnection bottleneck threatens community solar success in Illinois— Kari Lydersen

• XGS Energy says its advanced geothermal tech is ready to scale up — Maria Gallucci