New Kentucky battery factory builds on the state’s clean energy boom

Correction: The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority recently launched two federally funded energy efficiency programs. An item in Thursday’s digest misstated the organization sponsoring the program.

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STORAGE: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announces a subsidiary of Canadian Solar will build a $712 million, 3 GW lithium ion cell battery manufacturing plant — the latest in a wave of battery factories and electric vehicle expansions that together account for more than 16,000 new jobs. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Donald Trump’s plans to repeal a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit could be a major blow to auto manufacturers who have invested billions in EV and battery factories in Georgia and other Republican-led Southeast states. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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OIL & GAS: Entergy proposes a 1,500 MW gas-fired power plant in Louisiana to power a proposed $5 billion-plus data center, as critics question secrecy around the project and its likely effect on rates and carbon emissions. (Floodlight)

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WIND: Oklahoma’s wind generation capacity has grown tenfold since 2010 as renewables now generate about 44% of the state’s power, but experts expect the industry’s rapid growth to slow. (Tulsa World)  

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SOLAR:

• Officials in Lexington, Kentucky, consider whether to allow construction of a solar farm on a closed, 600-acre landfill as debate rages over the effect of solar development on farmland. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• A Virginia county board considers a resolution to delay future solar projects after two proposed projects are withdrawn from consideration, including one that had received county approval. (Martinsville Bulletin)

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UTILITIES:

• New Orleans’ city council considers a pending vote on whether to allow Entergy to sell its natural gas business to a private equity firm, which will likely result in higher rates. (NOLA.com)
• Texas regulators instruct staff to begin vetting third-party organizations to audit CenterPoint Energy over its response to widespread Houston outages caused by Hurricane Beryl. (Houston Chronicle)

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COAL:

• West Virginia judges affirm state regulators’ conclusion that Appalachian Power mismanaged its coal supplies in 2021 and 2022, but reject a related decision not to allow the utility to recover more than $200 million in fuel costs, sending it back for more review. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• West Virginians observe the 56th anniversary of a mine disaster that killed 78 coal miners. (WV Metro News)

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‍HYDROGEN: West Virginia residents rally against a proposed “blue hydrogen” hub proposed for Appalachia. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

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OVERSIGHT: West Virginia officials anticipate Donald Trump’s selection to lead the U.S. EPA will reverse course on proposed rules to restrict emissions from coal-fired and new gas-fired power plants. (WV News)

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CLIMATE:

• Damage from Hurricane Helene belies the marketing of western North Carolina as a “climate haven” and illustrates the precarity of Appalachia’s infrastructure and social structures. (New Republic)
• Southeast mutual aid groups speak out against the politicization of disaster recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and call for structural changes to lower greenhouse gas emissions and boost disaster management resources. (Inside Climate News)
• A sixth beach house in the last six months collapses into the sea in North Carolina. (NPR)

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POLITICS: A Virginia lobbyist wrote the energy chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook, which proposes overhauling the U.S. Department of Energy, repealing clean energy funding sources, boosting oil and gas and streamlining the nuclear approval process. (Virginia Mercury)

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