TVA considers powering Elon Musk’s Memphis supercomputer

GRID: The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board considers a 150 MW power arrangement for Elon Musk’s supercomputer project in Memphis, Tennessee, which is currently using gas turbines and has prompted opposition from its neighbors. (Commercial Appeal, New York Times)

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CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental Petroleum nears completion of a direct-air carbon capture facility in Texas that would be the first large-scale facility to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air; the company plans to build dozens more. (Houston Chronicle)

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SOLAR:

• Facebook’s parent company strikes a deal with an energy company to acquire all of the power produced by a planned 250 MW solar farm in Texas. (Reuters, Power Technology)
• A 134 MW solar farm north of Houston begins operations with contracts to supply corporate customers and feed power to the Midwest grid instead of Texas’ standalone grid. (Houston Chronicle)
• Amid rapidly growing demand, a company accelerates and expands its plans to build a facility to recycle up to 10 million solar panels per year. (Capitol Beat News Service)

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STORAGE: Georgia Power asks state regulators to approve its plan to build 500 MW of battery storage at four sites. (Capitol Beat News Service)

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PIPELINES: A federal court agrees to hear arguments over a 32-mile pipeline in Tennessee to supply a gas-fired power plant that’s part of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to replace its coal plants with gas. (Tennessee Lookout)

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OIL & GAS:

• A credit rating agency reports the explosive growth of data centers will dramatically increase power demand and likely accelerate natural gas production and infrastructure projects across Texas and the Southeast, especially in the Permian Basin. (Houston Chronicle)
• Marathon Oil informs Texas officials it likely will lay off at least 500 people due to its acquisition of oil giant ConocoPhillips. (Houston Chronicle)
• A company discusses its plans to build a 3,500 MW gas-fired power plant and data center campus in Virginia despite news reports that a county board will vote it down. (Cardinal News)

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WIND:

• Virginia gears up to train up to 40,000 workers who will be needed for jobs in the maritime and offshore wind industries. (Virginia Business)
• An energy company announces it will sell power from a 127 MW wind farm in Texas to electric vehicle maker Rivian. (Renewables Now)

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NUCLEAR: A growing number of South Carolina environmentalists embrace the prospect of nuclear power as a source of carbon-free energy. (Charleston City Paper)

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OVERSIGHT: A flood of companies disclosing their use of toxic chemicals in the fallout from Hurricane Helene exposes a tangled web of federal disclosure laws and regulatory holes that let them hide those details. (The Lever)

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POLITICS:

• Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says the state’s self-proclaimed status as “the electric vehicle battery capital of the United States” could be jeopardized if Donald Trump wins next week’s presidential election. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• A new analysis finds the oil and gas industry has given more than $75 million to Donald Trump, not counting funding from dark-money nonprofits. (New York Times)

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UTILITIES:

• Critics call out President Biden’s “milquetoast” efforts to push the Tennessee Valley Authority to address the climate crisis and move toward cleaner energy. (WPLN)
• Southern Company reports a higher third-quarter profit than last year despite weathering extensive damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton during that time. (Al.com)

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COMMENTARY: The presidential election is causing uncertainty in North Carolina’s clean energy economy as companies move to “de-risk” by slowing projects and waiting to see who wins, write the president and vice president of a climate-focused startup. (Raleigh News & Observer)

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