Texas leads U.S. in renewables

RENEWABLES: Texas is the top state for development of renewable energy generation and battery capacity as of the end of 2024, ranking first for wind and solar and second behind California for battery capacity. (Reuters)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Workers at a Kentucky Ford and SK On electric vehicle battery plant file for an election to join the United Auto Workers, prompting speculation that workers at a related Tennessee plant will follow suit. (Louisville Public Media, Tennessee Lookout)
• Texas A&M hosts a conference on electric vehicles and stored energy. (KBTX)

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SOLAR: A renewables company announces the closing of financing for a 109 MW solar farm under construction in Georgia. (Renewables Now)

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OIL & GAS:

• A Virginia county planning commission recommends denial of a company’s request to rezone land for 12 data center buildings and a 3,500 MW gas-fired power plant. (Cardinal News)
• President-elect Trump’s desire to “make America energy dominant again” will likely involve greenlighting the expansion of liquified natural gas facilities on the Gulf Coast, which are still governed by standards that were drafted in the 1970s. (E&E News)
• North Carolina lawmakers and local officials discuss a gas company’s plan to build new pipelines as part of a larger expansion of its pipeline network. (WFDD)

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GRID:

• Puerto Rico’s new governor appoints an “energy czar” to supervise the companies that oversee power generation, transmission and distribution, which the governor says “is in such a precarious situation that anything can cause the power to go out.” (Associated Press)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority gears up for frigid temperatures and an incoming winter storm months after spending $430 million to improve the reliability of its gas, hydro and coal plants. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• An engineer discusses why backup generators at a Virginia water treatment plant failed to prevent a catastrophic failure of the Richmond metro area’s water system that’s delayed the state legislative session. (WTVR, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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EMISSIONS: Mitsubishi drops its plans to build a $1.3 billion petrochemical plant that would have ranked among the top 50 greenhouse gas polluters in Louisiana, citing a drop in demand for the products it would have made. (Louisiana Illuminator)

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UTILITIES: Houston’s city council denies a rate increase for CenterPoint Energy after the utility was criticized for its efforts to maintain and restore power during Hurricane Beryl, although the utility is likely to appeal the decision to state regulators. (Houston Chronicle)

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POLITICS: Hundreds of Oklahoma activists rally for Gov. Kevin Stitt to issue an executive order to block new wind and solar facilities despite renewables’ relative success in the state, which ranks third in the nation for wind energy. (Heatmap)

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