ALSO: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear appoints eight members to a new energy planning commission ostensibly intended to slow the retirement of fossil fuel-fired power plants, including officials from two utilities that opposed the new board’s creation. (Kentucky Lantern)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• Electric vehicle maker Canoo announces it will move its headquarters to Texas as part of a larger move to relocate away from California to Texas and Oklahoma. (WFAA)
• Houston receives $15 million and Georgia receives $26.8 million in federal funding to add electric vehicle chargers. (Houston Chronicle, WSB)

CLEAN ENERGY: Along with the addition of 15 GW of solar, battery and wind over the last year, Texas added 6.6% more clean energy jobs to rank second in the U.S. after Idaho. (Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR: 

• A company announces plans to build a $6 million factory in Louisiana to make solar panel components to supply Ohio-based company First Solar. (Acadiana Advocate)
• A Virginia county board approves a conditional use permit and siting agreement for a 125 MW solar farm that’s been stalled in development since 2019. (Charlotte Gazette)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority issues a request for proposals for a 200 MW solar farm in Alabama. (Moulton Advertiser)

COAL: Alabama residents voice their concerns about a coal mine’s operations in the first public meeting since a fatal explosion that a federal lawsuit blames on a methane leak. (Inside Climate News) 

BIOMASS: Georgia Power asks Georgia regulators to approve its plan to add three biomass-burning plants totaling 80 MW to its existing 350 MW fleet of plants. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

OIL & GAS: 

• Austin, Texas, residents push the municipal utility to drop its plans to build a new hydrogen-capable natural gas-fired power plant. (Austin Monitor)
• A coalition of 23 state attorneys general petitions the Supreme Court to block EPA rules requiring oil and gas wells to control leaks of methane, a significant contributor to global warming. (The Hill)
• A pipeline company buys another company in the Permian Basin and its equity interests in a pair of deals collectively valued at nearly $6 billion. (Bloomberg, subscription)

STORAGE: 

• An energy company announces plans to build two battery energy storage systems with a combined capacity of 350 MW for San Antonio, Texas’ municipal utility. (Renewables Now)
• A Mississippi county discusses improvements to an industrial park where an electric truck battery plant is being built, as well as a likely Tennessee Valley Authority substation. (South Reporter)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators approve 20-year extensions for two reactors at a Dominion Energy nuclear power plant in Virginia that were originally licensed in the late ‘70s. (Virginia Business)

UTILITIES: 

• CenterPoint Energy attempts to placate Texas officials angry over its response to Hurricane Beryl by offering to forego $110 million in anticipated profits from generators it purchased but didn’t use. (Houston Chronicle)
• West Virginia regulators field a growing number of angry comments about Appalachian Power’s proposed rate hike even after delaying formal consideration until next spring. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

COMMENTARY: Jacksonville and other Florida cities should lead the way in incentivizing community microgrids and rooftop solar installation to address climate change and accelerate the clean energy transition, writes a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral. (Invading Sea/Florida Times-Union)

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SOLAR: A new report highlights Florida as a “solar powerhouse” in the Southeast, with more than 9,000 MW of capacity that’s expected to double by 2027. (WLRN)

COAL: Federal attorneys argue that West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies shouldn’t have agreed to a settlement for unpaid mine safety fines if they can’t afford to pay. (WV Metro News)

EFFICIENCY: Tennessee seeks more than $167 million in federal money for home energy rebates, but residents will likely have to wait until spring to begin applying. (Tennessee Lookout)

POLITICS: A young Democratic Florida Congress member uses his speech during the Democratic National Convention to spotlight the state’s exposure to climate change. (Florida Politics)

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Renewables prop up the Texas grid against record demand is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

GRID: 

• Texas’ grid operator sees an unofficial record for power demand but seems more stable than last year due to the addition of wind, solar, battery storage and a small amount of gas. (Houston Chronicle)
• Georgia Power sidestepped state regulators to sign a deal to buy power from a Mississippi company that will continue operating a coal plant slated for closure to meet the new demand. (Grist)
• Experts try to understand how Hurricane Beryl caught Houston residents and CenterPoint Energy by surprise despite warnings about the aging grid and threat of extreme storms exacerbated by climate change. (Houston Chronicle)
• Extreme weather events and targeted attacks on infrastructure in a neighboring state cause concern about the reliability of the power grid in Tennessee. (WATE)

SOLAR: Nonprofits plan to expand a solar cooperative in El Paso, Texas, even though higher inflation and interest rates dampened interest in the program this year. (El Paso Matters)

STORAGE: 

• Three Houston startups pursue energy storage projects that don’t require lithium batteries by injecting water underground at high pressure that can then turn a turbine to generate power. (Inside Climate News)
• An energy developer launches a 200 MW battery facility at the site of a former gas-fired power plant as the Houston area’s first grid-scale storage system. (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: 

• Oilfield services firm Halliburton is hit by a cyberattack that affects its Houston campus and global operations. (Reuters, Houston Chronicle)
• Kentucky officials hand out gas monitors to 100 households due to an underground methane gas leak from a former landfill. (WCPO)

GEOTHERMAL: A Houston-based geothermal energy startup signs a deal to build a facility to eventually provide 150 MW to Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. (Houston Chronicle)

NUCLEAR: The director of a University of Kentucky energy center tells state lawmakers nuclear companies are increasingly considering building in the state, but construction of a new nuclear reactor won’t likely occur for at least a decade. (Kentucky Lantern)

CARBON CAPTURE: A Louisiana timber company sells carbon credits for unharvested trees on 100,000 acres, including more than $100 million worth of credits through the end of 2023. (WWNO)

CLIMATE: 

• Norfolk, Virginia, residents and property developers react negatively to planned stormwalls and other measures intended to reduce the coastal city’s flood risk. (Virginia Mercury)
• August has been quiet for hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean, but forecasters warn a weather pattern shift could lead “a frenzy of tropical activity to unfold.” (Florida Times-Union)

COMMENTARY: 

• A Kentucky opinion writer in need of a new car test drives an electric vehicle and is sold on its convenience, ease of driving and falling prices. (Louisville Courier Journal)
• A Republican Alabama lawmaker touts the state’s nuclear and hydroelectric power generation as a sign of how it’s shifting toward clean energy. (AL.com)

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Feds take another look at permit for Hyundai’s Georgia EV complex is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

SOLAR: 

• A Louisiana legislative hearing on solar energy is rife with misinformation and inaccurate statements voiced by officials and lawmakers with deep ties to the state’s powerful oil and gas industry. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• A Virginia county board asks its attorney to comb through its solar ordinance and propose adjustments based on the solar farms it’s approved over the last seven years. (Gazette-Virginian)
• A Virginia county board approves a permit for a 5 MW solar farm to be built across from a golf club. (Amherst New Era-Progress)
• A Texas county expects to receive $7 million from a total of $250 awarded to the state to build solar projects for low-income and disadvantaged communities, but since its board initially voted against the project, it’s unclear what the final dollar amount will be. (Fort Worth Report)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• Kentucky has attracted more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicle-related investments since 2020, but lagging vehicle sales and a partisan split over the industry create uncertainty about its future. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• An Arkansas transit agency receives $14.9 million in federal funding to build electric vehicle charging stations at up to 17 sites. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) 

OVERSIGHT: A federal court blocks the U.S. EPA and Justice Department from using portions of the Civil Rights Act to control whether Louisiana regulators consider the disparate and cumulative impacts of polluting facilities on Black and Brown communities. (Floodlight)

COAL: 

• The son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice no-shows a federal court hearing in a lawsuit over pollution from an Alabama coking plant, prompting the judge to file an order finding him and the coal company in civil contempt. (Inside Climate News)
• Federal regulators say they’re taking a more active approach in working with coal operators after the industry saw 40 mining deaths in 2023 and 15 so far this year. (WEKU) 

OIL & GAS: A court rejects a federal agency’s 2020 environmental assessment that glossed over the potential harm to endangered and threatened marine species from oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. (Inside Climate News)

GRID: A heat dome settles over Texas, pushing demand on the state power grid to an unofficial all-time high. (Associated Press)

• FINANCE: A Virginia-based finance company leverages half a billion dollars in U.S. EPA funding to launch a “Green Bank” to fund clean energy projects in Appalachia and other rural areas. (WSLS, Blue Ridge Public Radio/Grist)

STORAGE: Texas accounts for nearly a quarter of the 4.2 GW of battery storage installed in the U.S. in the first half of 2024. (PV Magazine)

HYDROGEN: West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio officials gather to celebrate the first $30 million round of funding for a regional hydrogen hub that’s been criticized for a lack of transparency. (Inter-Mountain, WESA) 

HYDROPOWER: Appalachian Power warns boaters and other recreational users to beware of water levels on the New and Roanoke rivers as it considers increasing generation from its hydroelectric facilities to meet power demand. (Chatham Star-Tribune)

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COAL: The Sierra Club sues West Virginia regulators over a 2021 order for Appalachian Power to operate its coal plants at a 69% capacity factor, arguing they overstepped their authority. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

GRID: Researchers say the addition of new solar and battery resources has bailed out the standalone Texas grid this summer amid high temperatures and growing demand from data centers and crypto miners. (NPR)

SOLAR: 

• The U.S. subsidiary of an Italian utility begins operations at a 326 MW solar farm in Texas that will have an 86 MW battery storage system. (PV Tech)
• A pair of companies partner on construction of a 159 MW solar farm in Texas. (Power Technology)
• A Virginia county board considers a 3 MW solar farm located at the convergence of three counties. (Farmville Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A company based in the United Kingdom announces it will invest $8 million into a Virginia factory to make hand-built electric classic sports cars. (Danville Register & Bee)

NUCLEAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority approves another $150 million to develop small modular nuclear reactors in eastern Tennessee. (Bloomberg, subscription) 

OIL & GAS: 

• A wave of corporate mergers in the oil and gas industry is squeezing out locally-owned and family-operated companies in Texas even as the industry sees record profits. (Texas Tribune)
• Louisiana residents gather to share concerns about how a liquified natural gas export terminal has disrupted commercial fishing and air quality as the plant presses for regulator approval to increase emissions even more. (WWNO)

STORAGE: 

• Texas has increased its battery storage capacity about 2,500% since the 2021 winter storm, helping bolster the independent state power grid. (WFAA)
• An energy company announces the start of commercial operations at a 200 MW battery storage facility in Houston. (news release)
• A growing number of people are buying home battery storage systems to counter power outages occurring as the grid faces higher temperatures and related demand. (Associated Press)

TRANSITION: A group works to treat water flowing from abandoned mine portals to improve the ecology and recreational potential of a creek near a West Virginia college town. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

CLEAN ENERGY: A North Carolina State University researcher investigates using plants growing in acid mine drainage to source rare earth elements for clean energy technology. (WUNC)

UTILITIES: 

• The Tennessee Valley Authority board approves an increase in wholesale power rates based on higher inflation, higher interest rates, and growing electricity demand to accommodate data centers, electric vehicles and population growth. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Louisiana regulators approve two Entergy settlements that raise energy prices while returning millions to customers over claims the company overcharged customers as it mismanaged a nuclear power plant in Mississippi. (WWNO)

COMMENTARY: 

• Scientists are still fine-tuning models that show the effect of climate change, but the fact that nearly the entire U.S. population has been subject to at least one extreme weather alert since May demonstrates the widespread nature of climate risk, writes a columnist. (Bloomberg)
• Florida policymakers’ support for natural gas instead of less expensive renewable options is driving energy costs up for state residents, writes a conservationist. (Invading Sea/Orlando Sentinel)

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Georgia Power dabbles in carbon capture as it eyes more gas plants is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.