Tennessee, TVA lag in Southeast’s shift to solar

GRID: 

• More than 30,000 Floridians lose power as Hurricane Debby arrives, with other parts of the Southeast expecting tornados and up to 20 inches of rain. (WFLA, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• CenterPoint Energy releases a new, more aggressive plan to trim trees, replace utility poles and harden the grid against hurricanes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott criticized its original proposal. (Houston Chronicle)
• Memphis, Tennessee’s municipal utility slaps back at residents and environmental groups worried about the power needs of an artificial intelligence company’s new supercomputer, arguing it can meet demand without receiving approval from the city council or its board. (WREG)

CLIMATE: 

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins its review of changes to Louisiana’s $10.3 billion, 98-mile levee project to protect communities along its central coast from storm surge. (NOLA.com)
• Georgia and Atlanta both drafted climate plans, but neither received any money from the U.S. EPA’s $4.3 billion grant program to cut greenhouse emissions. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Tennessee has among the nation’s highest percentages of energy-burdened residents and also doesn’t define air conditioning as an essential utility, leaving low-income residents sweltering amid record high temperatures. (Inside Climate News)

POLITICS: 

• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s U.S. Senate campaign is being propped up by the fossil fuel industry as debts threaten his coal-based business empire with financial ruin. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he sent a letter to state regulators asking them to reclaim $800 million in ratepayer money from CenterPoint Energy for its purchase of large generators that went unused in its emergency response to Hurricane Beryl. (KXAN)

COMMENTARY: 

• Duke Energy’s North Carolina customers are seeing higher bills from volatile natural gas prices, a warning sign about the utility’s continued reliance on fossil fuels, writes a clean energy advocate. (Greensboro News & Record)
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is foolishly downplaying climate change even as the state is pounded by stronger hurricanes and the insurance industry withdraws, writes an environmental journalist. (Florida Phoenix)