Should Virginia or local governments have final say on rural solar?

SOLAR: Virginia lawmakers and lobbyists back a proposed state board that would weigh in on proposed solar and battery storage projects but leave final decisions to localities, although its creation could be vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (Inside Climate News)

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ALSO: Duke Energy announces it’s completed its 10^th solar farm in Florida, making good on its 2020 pledge to state regulators to build nearly 750 MW of solar generation in the state. (Panama City News Herald)

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COAL ASH: Duke Energy, Louisville Gas & Electric/​Kentucky Utilities and other power companies send a letter to Trump’s EPA nominee asking for​​“immediate action” to roll back federal regulation of toxic coal ash and rescind recent enforcement actions. (Canary Media)

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STORAGE:

• A Virginia county drafts an ordinance to address zoning of battery storage facilities as it receives inquiries from Appalachian Power and two other companies interested in building a facility. (Lynchburg News & Advance)
• An energy company announces two new battery storage projects in Texas totaling 425 MW. (news release)
• A company announces an initiative at its Kentucky lithium refinery to produce materials from coal tailings and other mine waste. (news release)

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GRID:

• Chevron launches a partnership to build natural gas power plants in the Southeast and elsewhere that will be directly connected with data centers. (Associated Press)
• Artificial intelligence companies pair with a Japanese investment firm to announce a sprawling data center complex with a 200 MW substation in Texas, which will be the first part of their larger Stargate project. (Houston Chronicle)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Alabama suspends its electric vehicle charger installation program, citing President Trump’s order pausing its federal funding. (E&E News, subscription)

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‍COAL:

• West Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Justice’s family coal companies ask a federal court to allow them to shield their tax returns and other business information as federal officials press to collect $434,000 in delinquent mine safety fine penalties. (Charleston Gazette-News)

• A coal miner is killed at a West Virginia surface mine. (WV Metro News)

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EFFICIENCY: A new report finds Tennessee residents use 30% more electricity than the national average, largely because of the state’s lagging energy-efficiency building standards. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

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‍NUCLEAR: South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster calls for the expansion of the VC Summer nuclear plant, which previously collapsed in the ​“Nukegate” controversy but recently has been revived by state-owned utility Santee Cooper. (Post and Courier, South Carolina Daily Gazette)

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‍OIL & GAS: A Texas city council approves a gas company’s proposal to expand its fracking operations near a daycare center and neighborhood. (Inside Climate News)‍

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BIOMASS: South Carolina residents deal with noise, dust and pollution from a nearby wood-pellet plant, one of 28 similar facilities across the Southeast and seven in the Carolinas. (WSOC)

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‍HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department collects public input on plans to produce hydrogen from natural gas at multiple sites in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania that are part of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub. (WYSO)

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