WV developer plans 1.3 GW solar field for data center

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SOLAR

• “Ridgeline is not a modest project, and it was never conceived as one”: A company that wants to build a large data center complex in West Virginia rolls out plans to build a 1.3 GW solar farm on up to 9,000 acres, which would make it one of the largest such facilities in the U.S. (Country Roads News)

NUCLEAR

• A Tennessee county board approves a rezoning for BWX Technologies’ proposal to build a high-purity depleted uranium manufacturing plant as part of its expansion plan to fulfill a $1.6 billion contract to provide uranium to the federal government. (Tennessee Lookout)

FOSSIL FUELS

• West Virginia regulators tell the federal government to back off in its oversight of Lexington Coal Co. despite the company’s long history of environmental violations and the fact it owes more than $6 million in delinquent fine debt. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

• Documents reveal that large oil and gas companies knew their practices were affecting coastal lands but worked to delay cleanup and accountability — likely opening the door to lawsuits such as one successfully brought by a Louisiana parish against Chevron that’s now before the U.S. Supreme Court. (DeSmog/​Exxon Knews)

• Environmentalists warn the first nine startups at a former New Orleans naval base that’s been repurposed as a green ​“deep tech” hub are focusing on carbon management and hydrogen production, which can be framed as climate solutions while actually providing cover for polluters. (The Lens)

• Commissioners at a Florida port vote unanimously not to sell land to Berkshire Hathaway and Chesapeake Utilities for a liquified natural gas plant to supply the cruise and space industry. (Orlando Sentinel)

• El Paso Electric’s filings with Texas regulators show it plans to build a 366 MW power plant consisting of 813 small gas-fired generators to accommodate a massive expansion of Meta’s planned data center. (El Paso Matters)

OVERSIGHT

• A federal judge declines to act on an emergency request from the Center for Biological Diversity to prevent a rarely convened federal panel from meeting to discuss an exemption under the Endangered Species Act to allow for more fossil fuel drilling off the Gulf Coast. (E&E News, Inside Climate News)

• West Virginia lawmakers approve legislation to create an energy office requested by the governor as part of his plan to develop 50 GW of power by 2050, although they removed references to renewables to hold its focus on keeping coal plants open and building new gas plants. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

• Environmental groups criticize a push in Republican-led states to grant immunity to fossil fuel companies and related individuals for contributing to climate change. (E&E News)

EMISSIONS

• Some oil and gas companies are working to lower methane emissions from drilling facilities and pipeline networks in Appalachia and the Permian Basin, but they’re doing so relatively quietly amid industry concerns about the war in Iran and federal loosening of environmental regulations. (E&E News)

DATA CENTERS

• Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asks state lawmakers to consider ways to regulate data centers to balance their economic benefits against effects on communities and water supplies as the state sees booming growth that could make the state the world’s largest data center hub in a couple of years. (Houston Chronicle, Houston Chronicle)

• A West Virginia citizens group calls on state House Speaker Roger Hanshaw to resign from legal cases related to developers who could benefit from legislation he’s helped pass after it’s revealed he’s representing a data center developer against community opposition. (West Virginia Watch)

AGRICULTURE

• Florida lawmakers pass a new farm bill that preemptively blocks localities from outlawing gas- and diesel-powered tools such as tractors and leaf blowers, even as the agricultural sector reckons with extreme weather driven by climate change. (Grist)

• The president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association tells a Florida industry gathering the ethanol industry should be ​“let off the leash” to boost the renewable fuels and agriculture sectors. (FarmWeek)

COMMENTARY

• A Republican Virginia lawmaker castigates Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s creation and appointment of a chief energy officer because of the new official’s support of state initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and transition to clean energy. (Cardinal News)

• Texas regulators must carefully route a more-than-300-mile, 765-kV power line to minimize environmental damage and disruption to local communities, writes the founder of the Hill Country Preservation Coalition. (San Antonio Express-News)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Many homes already have the power to electrify, study finds — Alison F. Takemura

• My city’s two wind turbines are shutting down. Here’s what we’re losing. — Sarah Shemkus

• The Iran war is driving a clean energy wake-up call — Kathryn Krawczyk