Experts warn of public health risks from TVA’s gas buildout

OIL & GAS: People who live near the Tennessee Valley Authority’s eight planned natural gas-fired power plants will likely face higher cancer rates and other health impacts from the facilities, experts say. (WPLN)

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ALSO:

• Environmental groups press the Biden administration to stop development of deepwater oil export facilities, similar to its pause on permitting liquified natural gas export terminals. (Guardian)
• A Louisiana think tank last week sued the Department of Energy over a pause in liquified natural gas export approvals, arguing the move is unconstitutional. (E&E News, subscription)

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PIPELINES:

• The U.S. Supreme Court declines to take up six Virginia families’ challenge of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s use of eminent domain to forcefully acquire easements through their land. (Roanoke Times)
• Officials at a Kentucky arboretum and nature preserve call on the state supreme court to reverse a ruling allowing utilities to use eminent domain for pipeline construction through a state-funded wildlife corridor. (Kentucky Lantern)

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SOLAR:

• The Biden administration’s new tariffs on Chinese solar panels and electric vehicle components could boost economic activity in North Carolina’s emerging clean energy sector, an expert says. (WFAE)
• A consultant says Texas’ record-breaking solar generation over the winter came about less from development of new capacity than from a spike in load growth that slowed curtailment of solar facilities. (Utility Dive)
• A Virginia county planning commission considers two 4.99 MW solar farms that had applied for permits before the county imposed a moratorium on solar development. (Gazette-Virginian)
• An Arkansas nonprofit partners with a regional organization to award nearly $94 million in federal money to help low-income families acquire solar power. (Arkansas Advocate)

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WIND: Dominion Energy begins a new phase of construction at a Virginia facility where it will bring power onshore from its planned offshore wind farm. (WTKR)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs a bill to delay an electric vehicle charging sales tax to give state officials more time to figure out how to measure and assess the tax. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)
• Toyota considers investing $531.7 million in a new building at a Texas plant that makes pickups and a hybrid SUV, but details of the expansion are still unclear. (Houston Chronicle)

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GRID: A Kentucky bill to add new hurdles for utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants leads to a new high for lobbying costs as utilities and electric cooperatives spend big. (Kentucky Lantern)

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RENEWABLE GAS: A North Carolina county signs a contract with a company to build a facility to produce renewable natural gas at a waste storage site. (Biomass Magazine)

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NUCLEAR: A Tennessee university and community college use state grants to add programs to train workers for the nuclear power industry. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

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COMMENTARY:

• Louisiana must remove potential obstacles to keep pace with neighbors Texas and Mississippi in developing carbon capture technology to ensure it doesn’t lose out on investments, writes the president of a chamber of commerce. (Town Talk)
• Oklahoma should launch a program for wind, solar and oil and gas developers to pair energy projects with payments to protect wildlife habitat, writes a real estate developer and conservationist. (Oklahoman)

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