Deepwater cleanup workers left stranded by settlement’s shortcomings

OIL & GAS: A $67 million medical claims settlement for cleanup workers in BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has fallen far short of expectations, leaving the vast majority of workers with no more than $1,300 each for complicated, lasting health conditions. (Associated Press)

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ALSO: Congressional Republicans grill a Biden administration official over how the pause on permitting new liquified natural gas export terminals is affecting U.S. allies in Asia and Europe. (Houston Chronicle)

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TRANSITION: Health care emerges to account for more than 20% of all jobs in eastern Kentucky counties where coal mining jobs have declined 70% over the last generation, with jobs in educational services, remote work and tourism also growing. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

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GRID:

• Texas’ grid operator adjusts its power demand projections upward as data centers built to support artificial intelligence platforms strain grid capacity. (Houston Chronicle)
• A report finds Southern Co. and Entergy are among the utilities particularly well positioned to financially benefit from building out generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure as data centers drive up power demand. (S&P Global)
• A Georgia university institute receives a $10 million federal grant to partner with a Tennessee lab on a regional cybersecurity research and operations center to protect the grid. (news release)

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SOLAR: A Georgia-based company strikes a deal to incorporate its monocrystalline silicon solar cells into solar panels made by a Minnesota company, ensuring a source of entirely domestically made solar panels. (Electrek, The Cool Down)

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STORAGE: A Virginia commission approves incentives for a California company backed by a $100 million federal grant that’s considering building a lithium-ion battery factory. (Cardinal News)

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WIND: “I hate wind”: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reportedly rants about the wind industry during a Florida fundraising meal with oil and gas executives. (Washington Post)

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GEOTHERMAL: A Texas business park built on a former military airfield unveils a geothermal HVAC system. (KXAN)

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CARBON CAPTURE:

• A Florida county board approves a carbon capture pilot project at its waste-to-energy plant over the objections of environmental groups. (Tampa Bay Times)
• An Arkansas pipe manufacturer sues a company that wants to build a carbon capture network in Iowa over delays. (Arkansas Advocate)

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UTILITIES:

• Officials in San Antonio, Texas, debate whether windfall profits by the city’s municipal utility the last two years should be used to lower electric rates or for other purposes. (San Antonio Report)
• The new interim director of Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility has returned from retirement to resume working for it twice in the past eight years. (Florida Times-Union)

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COMMENTARY:

• A South Carolina bill to fast-track construction of a natural gas-fired power plant will benefit utilities but not state residents or ratepayers, who will be stuck with a less-than-reliable power source and potentially higher bills, writes a state regulator who resigned last month. (Post and Courier)
• An Appalachian advocacy group calls on Virginia lawmakers to engage with coalfield communities to ensure they have a voice in the transition from fossil fuels. (Cardinal News)
• Policymakers should listen to Gulf Coast communities that live in the shadow of liquified natural gas export facilities over the claims of oil executives, writes a community activist. (Common Dreams)

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