Texas leads the U.S. in grid failures the last 5 years

GRID: An analysis finds Texas has experienced 263 power outages since 2019, the most of any state in the country, indicating its power grid is struggling under demand and extreme weather. (Houston Chronicle)

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ALSO:

• Four Republican Texas Congress members introduce a resolution to oppose any effort to link the state’s independent power grid to other regional grids. (The Hill)
• The family of a South Carolina high school teacher who was killed by a falling power pole announces a lawsuit against Dominion Energy and two other companies. (WRDW/Gray News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responds to Rivian’s announcement it will at least delay construction of an electric vehicle plant in the state, saying the state will hold the company to its plans since it put up $1.5 billion in incentives. (WSB)
• A private utility wants Georgia lawmakers to alter a state law so it doesn’t need local approval to provide water service to new homes built near Hyundai’s sprawling electric vehicle and battery factory. (Associated Press)

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STORAGE: Texas residents are worried about a developer’s plans to build a battery storage facility near a neighborhood and elementary school. (KTRK)

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OIL & GAS:

• The U.S. breaks global records for crude oil production, producing more oil than any nation ever for each of the last six years. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
• A proposed 2,500-acre reservoir in Texas still faces public comment, but could fuel more buildout of the state’s massive petrochemical industry on the Gulf Coast. (Texas Observer)

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COAL:

• Kentucky lawmakers advance a Republican-backed bill to create an energy review commission that would provide another regulatory hurdle for utilities that want to retire coal-fired power plants. (Kentucky Lantern)
• Georgia officials warn about the presence of mercury in rivers and fish due to emissions from coal-fired power plants. (WGXA)
• A Virginia bank moves to dismiss a lawsuit by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s companies to block the auction of a sporting club to satisfy a multi-million dollar debt incurred by the Justice family’s coal companies and other branches of its businesses. (WV Metro News)

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CLIMATE:

• Florida Republicans are moving to block local governments from enacting workplace heat-exposure rules, even as ever-hotter temperatures are killing farmworkers in the state. (The Lever)
• Texas will create a legislative committee to investigate this month’s record-breaking wildfires, including causative factors and the state’s preparedness and response. (Texas Tribune)
• Nashville is selected as one of 25 cities to participate in a Bloomberg program to address climate change and the racial wealth gap in three neighborhoods with high energy burdens. (WSMV)

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UTILITIES: Austin, Texas’ municipal utility pauses the process of reworking its resource, generation and climate plan while the mayor pushes to divest from a coal-fired power plant and environmentalists call for more renewables. (Austin Monitor)

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GEOTHERMAL: A student team from the University of Oklahoma wins a competition for its design of geothermal wells to heat a 40,000-square-foot greenhouse operated by the Osage Nation. (KWTV/KSBI)

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MINING: A Virginia company moves to reopen critical minerals mining and production facilities in the state, after having previously discontinued operations there in 2015. (Virginia Mercury)

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COMMENTARY:

• Virginia lawmakers seemed to have lost interest in addressing climate change, partly because of Dominion Energy’s influence, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)
• A proposed Kentucky commission to consider affordable electric rates is designed less to keep energy prices low than to provide another state-mandated layer of protection for the sagging coal industry, writes the president of a state think tank. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

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