Solar and battery boom accelerates in Texas

SOLAR: Texas accounts for more than a third of planned U.S. solar facilities and a significant chunk of battery projects this year as new solar and storage development is projected to shatter records. (S&P Global)

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ALSO:

• A West Virginia solar company announces a deal with FirstEnergy’s utilities to ensure homeowners who install rooftop solar by the end of the year receive one-to-one net metering. (Times West Virginian)
• A Virginia county board approves 1.9 MW and 3 MW solar facilities despite opposition from residents, and discusses a pending 150 MW project but takes no vote. (Mecklenburg Sun)
• An energy company meets with Kentucky residents as it plans a 150 MW solar farm. (Messenger)
• A Virginia planning board votes against a permit for a 5 MW solar farm because of concerns it would hurt tourism. (WVIR)
• New Orleans relaunches a “solar for all” program that includes the development of solar-powered resilience hubs for disasters. (WGNO)
• A Virginia-based solar company hires its first CEO, a Texan who’s spent 15 years working on utility-scale solar projects. (Daily Progress)

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COAL ASH: The U.S. EPA warns Georgia regulators they’re likely allowing Georgia Power to store coal ash in ways that fall short of federal standards. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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NUCLEAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to hire 330 people to conduct nuclear fusion energy research at a Tennessee coal-fired power plant that was closed late last year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Electric vehicle startup Rivian announces layoffs in response to a lackluster earnings report but expects to begin construction soon on its planned Georgia factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Tennessee hybrid and electric vehicle owners are startled to discover the state now charges an annual registration fee of $100 for hybrids and $200 for EVs. (WKRN)

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OIL & GAS:

• An investigation finds the amount of money budgeted to plug fossil fuel wells in Texas and 14 other states that account for nearly all oil and gas production covers less than 2% of the projected cost. (ProPublica)
• South Carolina residents worry about the potential construction of a new pipeline to supply a planned natural gas-fired power plant. (WCSC)

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BIOFUELS: Florida lawmakers consider legislation written by a utility that would make it easier to develop manure-to-gas facilities and pass the cost to ratepayers. (Tampa Bay Times)

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HYDROGEN:

• West Virginia lawmakers unanimously advance a bill to remove hydrogen from the list of alternative fuels subject to the motor fuel excise tax. (Dominion Post)
• A Mississippi researcher receives a grant to study electrocatalyst testing methods of producing hydrogen. (Mississippi Business Journal)

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CLIMATE: A Florida university receives a $9 million federal grant to build wells along the coast to determine how rising groundwater might destabilize thousands of buildings crowding the state’s coastline. (Miami Herald)

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UTILITIES: Jurors hear testimony in the trial of two former executives of Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility who are accused of conspiracy and fraud. (Jacksonville Daily Record)

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COMMENTARY: Virginia lawmakers consider creating a retail market for cannabis, which will almost certainly drive up power demand and carbon emissions, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)

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