Kentucky nonprofit builds solar, efficiency into post-flood housing

SOLAR: A Kentucky nonprofit is building net-zero homes with energy efficient construction and rooftop solar panels to lower energy costs for low-income residents, including in a housing development for survivors of the state’s 2022 floods. (Kentucky Lantern)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Labor unions have won a series of victories at Southeast electric vehicle factories this year, prompting states to propose anti-union legislation in response. (E&E News)
• A Louisiana factory that produces battery-grade graphite is the first of six planned projects totaling $2.4 billion in investment that officials hope will make the state an integral part of the emerging electric vehicle supply chain. (NOLA.com)
• A Chinese electric vehicle company planning an electric vehicle factory in Mexico emerges as a competitor to the Southeast’s growing EV belt and highlights the stakes of next week’s U.S. presidential election. (Inside Climate News)

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OIL & GAS:

• Members of a Virginia county board say they won’t support a company’s proposal to build a 3,500 MW gas-fired power plant to power an accompanying data center complex. (Danville Register & Bee)
• Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. files an application with federal regulators to begin the process of expanding its pipeline network across the Southeast. (Bloomberg, subscription)

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WIND: An emerging Texas wind company cites “fast-growing demand” for renewable energy from oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin as they move to decarbonize and upgrade power to their growing operations. (CleanTechnica)

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STORAGE: Dominion Energy proposes a liquified natural gas storage facility in southern Virginia, while another company is leasing 85 acres in an industrial park for a lithium-ion battery storage facility. (Virginia Business)

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EMISSIONS: Two Georgia military bases are at the forefront of the armed forces’ push to reduce emissions and counter climate change, including one that’s been described as the Defense Department’s “first net-zero energy base.” (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

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BIOGAS:

• An energy company completes construction of a facility at a Florida dairy to convert manure into renewable gas. (news release)
• Natural gas and waste management companies launch operations at a renewable gas facility at a Kentucky landfill. (news release)

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NUCLEAR: Amazon signs an agreement with Dominion Energy to research the use of small modular nuclear reactors at an existing Virginia nuclear power plant. (Virginia Business)

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CLIMATE:

• Hurricanes Helene and Milton lead Floridians to file more than 90,000 auto insurance claims in the latest signal that climate change is driving up rates. (Inside Climate News)
• New research finds hurricanes and other tropical storms can cause an increase in deaths up to 15 years after they strike communities because of lingering health effects. (Inside Climate News)

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GRID: Georgia officials schedule an open house to discuss a company’s plans to build a new transmission line. (WSAV)

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UTILITIES: Southern Company is partnering with the Atlantic magazine’s marketing research team to discuss the energy transition in what an expert calls “nothing more than a propaganda effort.” (DeSmog)

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POLITICS: West Virginia U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito say the energy industry is headed in the right direction as it moves toward renewables and new technology while also producing more fossil fuels. (WV Metro News)

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COMMENTARY: South Carolina-owned utility Santee Cooper should modulate its proposed rate increase with carve-outs that incentivize energy efficiency and renewables, writes a climate advocate. (Post and Courier)

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