Company to build solar bulwark in the heart of TVA’s territory

SOLAR: Solar developer Silicon Ranch’s planned 110 MW solar farm for customers of a Tennessee electric cooperative establishes a bulwark for community driven solar in the heart of the largely renewables-reluctant Tennessee Valley Authority’s service area. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• The Sierra Club sues Mississippi over the lack of public comment ahead of regulators’ decision to end subsidies for solar installations. (WLBT)
• Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility finalizes agreements for three new solar facilities. (WTLV)

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OIL & GAS:

• A barge collides with a bridge pillar in a Texas port city, causing a partial collapse and spilling oil into Galveston Bay. (Associated Press)
• The presence of oil pipelines slows a Texas city’s Main Street construction project. (KTXS)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• President Joe Biden raises tariffs and import taxes on Chinese-made electric vehicles and solar panels largely to protect states like Georgia, where billions of dollars of electric vehicle and solar manufacturing facilities are being built. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Appalachian Power solicits up to 1,100 megawatts of wind, solar and battery storage to meet renewable energy mandates in Virginia. (Cardinal News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• An investment group announces it will provide “well above” $300,000 for a New Orleans company that’s developing silicon as a component in electric vehicle batteries. (The Advocate)
• A Tennessee fire department proposes using fire blankets to snuff electric vehicle fires to mitigate the spread of hazardous materials and protect against toxic fumes. (WTVF)

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WIND: A newly completed 160 MW wind farm near Houston, Texas, was designed to withstand the region’s weather, including safety features for hurricanes. (KTRK)

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NUCLEAR: A company will use a supercomputer at a Tennessee laboratory to train its artificial intelligence tool to guide nuclear power companies through applications for construction and operating licenses. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

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CLIMATE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs legislation to erase the phrase “climate change” from state policy and instead promote “an adequate, reliable and cost-effective supply of energy for the state,” even as the state feels the brunt of rising seas and warming temperatures. (Miami Herald, Associated Press)

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GRID:

• The U.S. Energy Department announces a West Virginia utility will receive up to $5 million to rebuild 23 miles of grid infrastructure. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• A worker is killed at a Texas power plant, one week after five workers were injured in a silo collapse and one year since another worker was killed in a boiler explosion last year. (KBTX)

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EMISSIONS: Virginia will likely see more days rated with poor air quality, due more to the recent revision of federal pollution standards than to increased pollution. (WHRO)

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COMMENTARY: The electric vehicle industry’s recent slowdown represents just a temporary delay in the clean vehicle transition as oil prices continue to fluctuate and EV technology rapidly advances, writes a quality manager at a Kentucky factory. (Courier Journal)

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