CARBON CAPTURE: Attracted by lucrative federal tax credits and the promise of reducing emissions while adding more gas plants, Georgia Power drills boreholes in rural Georgia to test sites’ suitability for carbon capture and sequestration. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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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