Duke failed to tap into federal loan program, N.C. consumer advocate says

EMISSIONS: Amid ongoing consideration of Duke Energy’s plan to meet North Carolina’s carbon emission goals, the state consumer advocate criticizes the utility for failing to leverage a federal loan program to save ratepayers hundreds of millions and build more clean energy. (Energy News Network)

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ALSO:

• A judge denies a request by Virginia’s attorney general to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the state’s withdrawal from a regional carbon market. (Roanoke Times)
• A new study finds Florida’s economy would grow even if it completely stops burning fossil fuels by 2050. (WUSF)

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OVERSIGHT: The U.S. Supreme Court declines to take up a case challenging the statewide election of Georgia’s energy regulators, essentially clearing the way for elections to resume in 2025. (Associated Press)

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GRID:

• Texas’ grid operator approves its first reform to an emergency reserve program that’s been criticized for driving up energy prices even when the grid isn’t particularly strained. (Houston Chronicle)
• Texas grid officials struggle to find a solution for a bottleneck in transmission lines near San Antonio after their request for proposals for 500 MW of on-demand power attracts only three applications for less than 10 MW. (Houston Chronicle)

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OIL & GAS:

• An industry report finds gas produced in Texas’ Permian Basin has been constrained by a pipeline network that’s at capacity, and calls for rapid approval of more intrastate projects overseen by state regulators. (Midland Reporter-Telegram)
• Developers of a massive Texas gas liquefaction plant ask a court to force its bankrupt lead contractor out of its construction and engineering contract after a dispute stalled work and led to thousands of layoffs. (Houston Chronicle)
• A report by climate advocates dismisses low-emission “gas certification” of facilities by third-party groups in the oil and gas industry as greenwashing that does little to actually lower methane emissions. (Inside Climate News)

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SOLAR: A Virginia county planning board recommends against approving a solar farm on 2,000 acres. (WCYB)

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COAL: Alabama residents complain that a mining company and public officials are ignoring their concerns about a growing underground coal mine with a lengthy list of safety violations that culminated in a fatal explosion in March. (Inside Climate News)

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WIND:

• Scientists collect data about how Dominion Energy’s construction of an offshore wind farm near Virginia is affecting the environment. (Bay Journal)
• Texas residents organize against a proposed 30,000-acre wind farm because they worry it will disrupt an internet transmission line and endanger farmland. (KTRH)

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ELECTRIFICATION: The mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, announces Miami will be the first major cruise port on the Eastern Seaboard to implement shore power, which allows cruise ships to cut their engines and plug into landside electrical power. (Miami’s Community News)

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OVERSIGHT: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces the expansion of a website to give the public more information about pending permits at six agencies, including the state’s energy and environmental regulation departments. (Virginia Mercury)

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COMMENTARY:

• Kentucky must move away from its historical reliance on coal and build more renewable energy facilities to retain a planned aluminum facility, writes the head of a decarbonization campaign. (Energy News Network)
• North Carolina communities are slowly coming around to electric vehicles with new school buses, chargers at school and city energy planning that includes more chargers, writes an opinion editor. (Fayetteville Observer)

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