Discover the Latest News and Initiatives for a Sustainable Future

OIL & GAS: Federal officials approve the construction of a deepwater oil export facility off the Texas Gulf Coast that will be the largest oil export terminal in the U.S. (Houston Chronicle)

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ALSO:

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott celebrates the groundbreaking of a 380 MW natural gas-fired “peaker” plant that intends to take advantage of new state incentives to spur such construction. (KXAN)
• U.S. House Republicans hold a field hearing in Texas to argue against the Biden administration’s pause on approval of new liquified natural gas export terminals. (E&E News, subscription)
• Executives of a Georgia oil company lobby for changes to a federal law that requires the use of American-made ships to transport goods between U.S. ports, which they say blocks the shipment of domestic oil and gas to the East Coast. (Savannah Morning News)

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STORAGE: Federal investigators cite an electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia for safety violations after a recent fire in which employees “suffered potentially permanent respiratory damage.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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NUCLEAR:

• Experts are divided on whether Georgia Power’s costly, long-delayed expansion of its nuclear Plant Vogtle heralds a new era for nuclear power development or will discourage future investment in the power source. (Grist)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin amends two bills to allow Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to seek cost recovery for development of small modular nuclear reactors. (Cardinal News)

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EMISSIONS:

• The U.S. EPA issues a new rule requiring more than 200 chemical plants, more than half of which are in Louisiana and Texas, to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer. (Associated Press, Texas Tribune)
• Residents of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” hail the new rule as a relief and the first time their complaints about risk from nearby facilities have been taken seriously. (WWNO)
• North Carolina regulators begin public hearings on Duke Energy’s long-term plans to reduce carbon emissions while keeping power bills affordable. (Blue Ridge Public Radio)

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SOLAR:

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs bills to create and expand community solar programs by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy. (Cardinal News)
• A Texas Congress member announces a $30 million federal grant to fund the installation of solar panels on rooftops, parking lots, and parking spaces across 42 city facilities in San Antonio. (KABB)
• The Southeast accounts for half of the top 10 U.S. states with the highest estimated savings from going solar, according to a study. (CleanTechnica)
• Oklahoma residents gather to oppose NextEra Energy’s plans to build a solar and battery storage facility. (KOKH)

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BIOMASS: Mississippi officials agreed to give more than $24 million in incentives to wood pellet producers in an effort to revitalize struggling rural areas, only to see a global debate erupt around the industry and its biggest company file for bankruptcy. (Mississippi Today)

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OVERSIGHT: South Carolina regulators move to pass sweeping legislation that overhauls how the state regulates utilities to help clear the way for a planned natural gas-fired power plant, while renewable energy companies lobby for changes to encourage more solar development. (Utility Dive)

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GRID: Texas solar and battery installations are growing so much that federal energy officials say there’s less need for natural gas generation during the day. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, PV Magazine)

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COAL ASH: Duke Energy announces a new rail yard and loading dock at a retired coal-fired power plant in North Carolina to assist with disposal of about 1.3 million tons of coal ash. (Greensboro News & Record)

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UTILITIES: The Tennessee Valley Authority names a new executive leader for its east region, which includes eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia. (news release)

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GRID: Utilities in Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee want to build gigawatts of new natural gas-fired power plants to meet escalating power demand from data centers and factories, potentially jeopardizing state and federal climate goals. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• Oklahoma sues two natural gas producers, alleging they fraudulently reduced supplies to spike prices during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri. (Associated Press)
• Severe storms and a tornado knock out power to about 140,000 Louisiana residents, while high winds cause outages for tens of thousands of people in Georgia and hundreds in North Carolina. (NOLA.com, WSB, WLOS)

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TRANSITION:

• West Virginia regulators approve a 100 MW solar farm and battery facility on the site of a former coal mine. (WTRF)
• A Kentucky Congress member’s efforts to attract a federal prison on the site of a former coal mine is opposed by locals and a growing national coalition. (Louisville Public Media)

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SOLAR:

• Virginia customers of Appalachia Power will soon be able to access a community solar program approved by state lawmakers and the governor, although it’s unclear whether the program will make financial sense for many customers. (Roanoke Times)
• A Virginia county board amends its solar ordinance to require all projects be located within a 1-mile radius of two electrical substations. (Virginia Business)
• A Virginia school installs a 74.2 kW rooftop solar array. (news release)

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WIND: Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities begin using a single wind turbine to study its capabilities, along with a lithium-ion battery and 44,500 solar panels. (Spectrum News)

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POLITICS:

• South Carolina lawmakers advance sweeping legislation to overhaul energy and utility regulation with the end goal of accelerating permitting for a planned natural gas-fired power plant, but critics warn the process is moving too fast and risks taxpayer money. (Charleston City Paper)
• West Virginia’s treasurer adds four financial institutions to a list of firms blocked from doing business with the state for failing to show they’re “not engaged in a boycott of fossil fuels.” (WV Metro News)

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OIL & GAS:

• The Tennessee Valley Authority announces completion of a three-unit, 750 MW expansion of a natural gas-fired power plant in Kentucky. (WBKO)
• Residents of a Texas port city testify to Congress about pollution and jobs amid the Biden administration’s pause on permitting new liquified natural gas export terminals. (Houston Chronicle)
• Kentucky researchers investigate the possibility of using coal ash to rejuvenate idled and abandoned oil and gas wells. (news release)

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HYDROGEN: A hydrogen company buys the last available water rights to Texas’ Nueces River, sparking concern about drinking water availability in the nearby city of Corpus Christi. (Inside Climate News)

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CRYPTOCURRENCY:

• Arkansas lawmakers file a number of bills to limit noise, restrict ownership and curb energy use by crypto-mining operations. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• Federal officials try to get a better idea of just how much energy the fast-growing cryptocurrency mining sector uses, with Texas emerging as a focal point. (E&E News)

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WORKFORCE: Students at a Virginia technical high school follow line workers from a local electric cooperative to learn more about trade jobs. (WHSV)

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UTILITIES: West Virginia regulators launch an investigation of how utilities notify customers when there’s an outage or other service interruption. (WV Metro News)

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UTILITIES: Questions still abound about the Tennessee Valley Authority CEO’s decision to replace a Tennessee coal plant with a gas-fired plant and 122-mile pipeline without public approval by the TVA board, and despite warnings from the U.S. EPA that the environmental review underlying the project was inadequate. (WPLN)

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ALSO:

• An analysis of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s energy mix shows it still relies on fossil fuels for most of its power, while nuclear energy remains a sizable source and wind and solar together account for just 4% of its power use. (WPLN)
• Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility board sets an emergency meeting for next week as a television station reports that its CEO will resign. (WJXT)

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OVERSIGHT:

• Georgia regulators prepare to vote on Georgia Power’s plan to build new natural gas-fired plants, purchase out-of-state energy and add new solar to rapidly meet unexpected demand from large data centers and industrial facilities. (Georgia Recorder)
• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp considers signing a bill to delay elections for a five-member state regulatory board until at least next year, even though two members’ terms have already expired and a third ends later this year. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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SOLAR: An energy company completes construction of a 637 MW solar farm in Texas. (Renewables Now)

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POLITICS: A Florida Republican consultant admits to approving a plan by an ex-state lawmaker to recruit a third-party candidate to siphon votes and defeat a Democratic candidate targeted by Florida Power & Light. (Floodlight/Miami Herald)

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TRANSITION: Duke Energy experiments with microgrids and solar panel efficiency, and invests in grid improvements as it receives rate increases in North Carolina to transition from coal. (WRAL)

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GOVERNMENT: A new study reveals federal grant funding to assist low-income Virginians with paying their bills is shrinking and already falls far short of the need, while a separate report suggests participation in a regional carbon market could provide another funding source. (Virginia Mercury)

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OIL & GAS:

• Texas activists who want to stop the buildout of liquified natural gas export terminals are now lobbying in Europe to try to accelerate investment in renewables and slow gas demand. (Capital and Main)
• Community and conservation groups sue to overturn Louisiana’s approval of coastal use permits for a large liquified natural gas export facility and related pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
• Environmentalists react in outrage to the Biden administration’s approval of a deepwater oil export terminal off the Texas coast, saying it contradicts his climate agenda. (Associated Press)
• A Georgia oil and gas company signs a tentative agreement to pay $2.8 million in civil penalties for alleged clean air violations, plus buy $12.2 million in greenhouse gas emission credits. (Georgia Current)

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PIPELINES: A West Virginia gas cooperative association receives $2.1 million in federal money to relocate a natural gas pipeline from a flood-prone creek. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

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COMMENTARY:

• A third of Virginia’s 95 counties have now enacted ordinances and other restrictions to block solar projects, threatening the state’s goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2050, write a professor and clean energy advocate. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Clean energy continues to make big gains in the U.S. energy mix despite lagging electric vehicle sales and naysaying by oil and gas industry leaders, writes a climate journalist. (Orlando Sentinel)

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CLIMATE: The U.S. EPA selects eight nonprofits to administer $20 billion for climate resilience and emissions-reducing projects in low-income communities, creating what it calls a “first-of-its-kind national network” of green lenders. (E&E News, New York Times)

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ALSO: The U.S. Federal Reserve reportedly thwarted a global effort to require lenders to share their climate plans and risks, saying a global banking oversight committee risked overstepping its authority. (Bloomberg, subscription)

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SOLAR: Installing solar arrays on the roofs of strip malls, factories, schools and other large non-residential buildings could bring low-cost power to surrounding communities, researchers find. (Grist)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• The Biden administration is largely looking to gas stations and truck stops to install electric vehicle chargers, which some observers call a natural fit while others say it is a lifeline to fossil fuel infrastructure. (E&E News)
• Ford will delay production of its electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV in favor of rolling out more hybrid vehicles. (Associated Press)
• A Black- and woman-owned electrical contracting company in Detroit embraces its identity, which has paid dividends with a flood of new work, including installing EV charging stations for DTE Energy. (Planet Detroit)

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NUCLEAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department finds converting coal plants to nuclear power could increase employment while driving new local tax revenue. (Utility Dive)
• California advocates sue the Biden administration for allocating $1 billion to the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to keep it operating, saying the award was based on a flawed analysis that doesn’t recognize some hazards. (Associated Press)
• The owner of New Jersey’s three nuclear plants says it will seek to extend the plants’ licenses for another 20 years, and says that new federal tax credits will enable the plants to run without state subsidies. (Associated Press, NJ Spotlight)

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CARBON CAPTURE: Local leaders in central Illinois say they are ill-equipped to respond to a potential emergency should a proposed six-mile carbon dioxide pipeline be brought into operation. (Energy News Network)

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OIL & GAS:

• The Biden administration finalizes a 20-year ban on new oil and gas drilling and mining on 222,000 acres of federal land in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado. (Colorado Sun)
• A nearly nine-hour hearing in Chicago over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to prohibit natural gas hookups in new homes and businesses brought fierce opposition from labor groups. (Chicago Sun-Times)

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COAL: Experts say the collapse of a Baltimore bridge will likely funnel more coal exports to Virginia’s ports, but an operator says they’re already operating at full capacity. (S&P Global)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Wind and solar are booming in Texas, with the state ranking first in the U.S. for wind energy and just behind California for solar, and renewables now accounting for a third of all power produced in the state. (Axios)

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BATTERIES: Developers plan to bring a 680 MW battery energy storage system online this summer on the site of a shuttered natural gas plant in southern California. (Canary Media)

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OIL & GAS: The Biden administration finalizes a 20-year ban on new oil and gas drilling and mining on 222,000 acres of federal land in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado. (Colorado Sun)

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ALSO:

• Permian Basin petroleum companies plan to develop pipelines to Gulf Coast export terminals designed to meet increasing global demand for liquified natural gas. (Carlsbad Current-Argus, subscription)
• The U.S. EPA orders Colorado regulators to revise a natural gas processing plant’s air quality permit after finding it failed to ensure flaring at the facility reduces smog-forming emissions. (news release)

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BIOFUELS: Phillips 66 completes converting a California Bay Area oil refinery into a biodiesel production facility. (ESG Today)

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UTILITIES:

• At least four self-described clean energy candidates win seats on the board of the Salt River Project, an Arizona utility. (KJZZ)
• Victims of last year’s deadly Maui blazes balk at Hawaiian Electric’s proposed 5% fee on ratepayers’ bills to help the utility fund wildfire prevention efforts. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

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SOLAR: Hawaiian Electric streamlines its rooftop solar and battery storage incentive program, resulting in reduced benefits for some customers. (Utility Dive)

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BATTERIES:

• Developers plan to bring a 680 MW battery energy storage system online this summer on the site of a shuttered natural gas plant in southern California. (Canary Media)
• LG Energy Solution begins construction on an electric vehicle and grid-scale battery manufacturing facility in Arizona. (Energy Storage News)
• Idaho Power plans to build a grid-scale battery energy storage project as part of its bid to bolster clean energy on its grid. (news release)

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NUCLEAR: California advocates sue the Biden administration for allocating $1 billion to the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to keep it operating, saying the award was based on a flawed analysis that doesn’t recognize some hazards. (Associated Press)

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CLIMATE:

• A nonprofit estimates Los Angeles County must invest at least $12.5 billion over the next 15 years to protect residents from climate change-exacerbated extreme weather, wildfires, rising sea levels and public health threats. (Los Angeles Times)
• Idaho lawmakers consider legislation drafted by conservative think tanks and fossil fuel industry groups that would block large banks from factoring climate and environmental concerns into investment decisions. (Idaho Statesman)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Washington state utility offers $50 credits to electric vehicle owners who agree not to charge when power demand peaks. (Center Square)

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CARBON CAPTURE:

• Montana advocates and residents push back on a proposed carbon sequestration project on federal land in the southeastern part of the state. (Montana Free Press)
• A California lawmaker withdraws legislation that would have increased safety regulations on carbon dioxide pipelines following pushback from labor and industry groups. (E&E News, subscription)

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POLICY: Connecticut lawmakers consider a 20-part climate omnibus bill in the last month of their session that would declare a climate crisis so it can access federal funds, update emission targets and incentivize sustainable or energy-efficient practices. (Connecticut Public Radio)

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ALSO: Two top Northeast energy executives express optimism but nonetheless question if Massachusetts can reach its 2030 cleaner power goals. (GBH)

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GRID:

• Roughly 400,000 electric customers are still dealing with power outages across New England and the Mid-Atlantic after snow and heavy winds swept the region, leading to some coastal flooding; more snow is expected today. (PowerOutage.US, Boston Globe, CNN)
• Maine lawmakers send a bill to the governor’s desk representing the biggest change to eminent domain law in half a century, which would restrict when power line and transmission tower projects can force land sales. (Portland Press Herald)

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UTILITIES:

• National Fuel is still undertaking anti-gas ban lobbying activities despite being reprimanded by New York regulators for doing so with funds from customer bills. (New York Focus)
• Massachusetts’ attorney general says the state’s electric suppliers missed “the perfect opportunity” to lower consumer costs during the volatile energy market swings between July 2022 and June 2023. (WBUR)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Maryland lawmakers are expected to soon vote on a budget package that adds new weight-based surcharges to electric and plug-in hybrid car registrations, a change estimated to raise $20 million for the state’s transportation fund. (Maryland Matters)
• Climate advocates say it’s going to be much harder for Maine to reach its 2030 climate goals without stronger clean car standards similar to those recently rejected by state regulators. (Portland Press Herald)
• The greater Boston area is one of the country’s biggest electric vehicle markets but still falls far behind several other large American cities in purchases. (WBUR)

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TRANSIT: The judge hearing New Jersey’s legal challenge to a federal environmental assessment of the Manhattan congestion pricing plan — which could be resolved by June — questions where the National Environmental Policy Act supports New Jersey’s argument. (Streetsblog, Gothamist)

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MINES: The owner of Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Mine idled operations last week due to heightened underground methane gas levels, not because it plans to close the mine, despite union claims that language in a company statement indicates that direction. (Herald-Standard)

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BUILDINGS:

• In New Jersey, a new PSE&G report suggests customers participating in the utility’s energy efficiency program are saving $445 million annually on their bills. (New Jersey Business Magazine)
• Maine officials will soon start studying how to increase renewable energy and energy efficiency in the state’s public schools. (Maine Wire)

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FINANCE: The Efficiency Maine Green Bank is set to receive $15 million in federal funds for loans supporting clean energy and renewable tech improvements. (news release)

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SOLAR: A Maine town will decide this weekend whether to approve a new solar ordinance with a new definition of where solar farms can be located, as well as visual and physical buffering restrictions. (Sun Journal)

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COMMENTARY:

• A Cayuga County, New York, economic analyst says the area’s limited electrical capacity is threatening numerous development projects and the county’s overall economic development. (The Citizen)
• Climate and offshore wind advocates in Delaware write it’s “not an option” for the state not to pass legislation to solicit offshore wind power given the state’s known climate impacts. (Delaware Online)

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POLITICS: The Biden administration’s pattern of proposing tougher climate and emissions rules than it ends up implementing are a side effect of President Biden’s re-election bid, observers say. (E&E News)

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OIL & GAS:

• The U.S. Interior Department issues its final rule to limit flaring and tighten methane leak detection to reduce emissions stemming from drilling on federal and tribal lands. (Associated Press)
• The U.S. leads a global surge of oil and gas production that threatens to upend Paris Agreement goals, a report finds. (Guardian)
• Entergy Louisiana proposes a $441 million floating natural gas power plant on land that is disappearing due to sinking and sea-level rise, which is expected to worsen from fossil fuel-driven climate change. (Floodlight)

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SOLAR: Solar generation is expected to briefly plunge in parts of the country during next month’s solar eclipse, but grid operators and electric utilities say they’re prepared with alternate energy sources to keep power flowing. (New York Times)

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COAL: New Hampshire’s Granite Shore Power will shut down its last coal-fired power plants in 2025 and 2028, replacing them with solar, battery storage, and other clean energy and marking the end of coal in New England. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

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OFFSHORE WIND: Four developers bid to build offshore wind projects off the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island coasts, including two bids from Avangrid and SouthCoast Wind that are essentially rebids of recently retracted projects. (CT Mirror, Rhode Island Current)

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NUCLEAR:

• The Biden administration offers a $1.52 billion loan for the first-ever effort in the U.S. to restart a shuttered nuclear plant in Michigan. (MLive)
• The federal government’s new limit on how much accident damage nuclear power operators are liable for could keep victims from receiving adequate compensation, critics say. (The Hill)

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EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA begins taking public comments on how it should regulate carbon emissions from existing gas plants and best practices for carbon capture technology. (E&E News, subscription)

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TRANSPORTATION: California environmental justice advocates push back on proposed changes to the state’s low carbon fuel standard, saying it might lead to higher gas prices that disproportionately burden low-income communities. (Inside Climate News)

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PIPELINES:

• The dispute over Line 5 in swing states Michigan and Wisconsin could have major implications for tribal sovereignty, the power of states to regulate fossil fuels, and U.S.-Canada relations. (New York Times)
• Six Southwest Virginia landowners who are challenging federal regulators’ use of eminent domain for the Mountain Valley Pipeline are appealing their case again to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Cardinal News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Ford plans to cut roughly two-thirds of its hourly workers at a Michigan plant building its electric F-150 as volume expectations drop. (Detroit Free Press)

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OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management finalizes its rule aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas facilities on public and tribal lands by requiring operators to limit flaring and venting and detect and repair leaks. (Washington Post)

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ALSO: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon criticizes the U.S. EPA’s proposal to establish a fee on methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, saying it would economically harm the state. (Buckrail)

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UTILITIES: California regulators propose a flat monthly utility fee for all electricity bills in an effort to reduce rates for low-income residents and to encourage electrification. (E&E News, subscription)

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SOLAR:

• Arizona’s attorney general calls on regulators to reconsider a decision to allow a utility to increase rates for rooftop solar customers, saying it is unconstitutional and discriminatory. (AZ Mirror)
• A study finds a full buildout of planned solar projects in California would destroy habitats for the Joshua Tree and an imperiled fox, but that climate change’s effects will be far more harmful. (E&E News, subscription)

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TRANSPORTATION: California environmental justice advocates push back on proposed changes to the state’s low carbon fuel standard, saying it might lead to higher gas prices that disproportionately burden low-income communities. (Inside Climate News)

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NUCLEAR: Washington state environmentalists and tribal leaders urge Gov. Jay Inslee to veto a budget earmark allocating $25 million to expedite advanced nuclear reactor deployment, saying the funds should go toward clean energy development. (Washington State Standard)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Colorado is set to launch its statewide electric bicycle tax credit program on April 1, but some retailers won’t participate due to slow reimbursement timelines. (CPR)
• California’s energy commission seeks public input on how to structure a grant program designed to replace and repair more than 1,300 public electric vehicle chargers. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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CLIMATE: Climate advocates protest Amazon’s plans to connect its Oregon data centers to a natural gas pipeline slated for expansion, saying the use of fossil fuels adds to the company’s “carbon problems.” (Common Dreams)

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ENERGY STORAGE: The first phase of a 680 MW battery energy storage facility in southern California is expected to go online this summer. (Patch)

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HYDROPOWER: Federal lawmakers from Western states introduce legislation that would allocate $45 million to repair and upgrade Hoover Dam and its hydropower plant in Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

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MINING: Protesters who disrupted work at the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada claim their action was necessary to save lives as they’re sued by the project’s developer. (KOLO)

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TRANSITION:

• Wyoming leaders and some residents hold out hope for the coal industry’s recovery even as they embrace a planned advanced nuclear reactor. (NPR)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards a portion of $18 million to northwest Colorado coal communities to help them transition to cleaner energy. (Denver Gazette)

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To make south Louisiana’s oil and gas infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather, Entergy Louisiana wants to build a $441 million floating natural gas power plant as the land around it continues to vanish from a combination of sinking and sea-level rise.  

A top Louisiana utility consumer advocate noted the “loop of irony” of adding even more greenhouse gasses to a region already suffering massive land loss because of climate change.

Entergy says the plant is necessary because in 2020, Hurricane Zeta took out a major transmission line serving the area, according to its filing with the Louisiana Public Service Commission. The company says the plant would be cheaper than building a new transmission line through wetlands and marshes, and it would not be “prudent or economic” to buy power on the open market. The company did not provide the cost to replace its downed transmission line.

Entergy Louisiana says its proposed 112-megawatt Bayou Power Station could disconnect from the grid and use the plant’s power to provide electricity to 7,000 residential, industrial and commercial including Port Fourchon, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port and residents in Golden Meadow, Leeville and Grand Isle. The power station would have black-start capability — or the ability to rapidly start up and ramp down without being connected to other parts of the energy grid.

“This Project will directly address critical oil and gas customers in the system at Port Fourchon,” Entergy’s filing to the PSC. “The interconnection of the Project will add a resilient power source to the (Entergy Louisiana) grid and enable storm restoration options, following a significant weather event.”

The promises being made mirror those its sister company, Entergy New Orleans, used to convince the New Orleans City Council to approve a 128-MW natural gas plant in eastern New Orleans that came online in 2020. Entergy New Orleans said the $210 million plant would come online quickly after a storm to provide the city with power.

But that didn’t happen. After Hurricane Ida struck in August 2021, the entire city went dark, and it took almost three days for the New Orleans gas plant to become operational. The utility said using the plant’s quick-start capability wasn’t the safest way to restore power to the city.

“And so the question now is why should the Louisiana Public Service Commission approve (Bayou Power Station) seeing what happened only a handful of years ago,” asked Logan Atkinson Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy.

Burke noted the Bayou Power Station would cost twice as much as the New Orleans plant and produce less electricity.

The power generation portion of the project is estimated at $374.3 million, or roughly $3,318 per kilowatt, an amount twice as much as most other power generation costs, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. If the Public Service Commission approves the plant, the costs would trickle down to all of Entergy Louisiana’s 1.1 million customers through increased rates and charges.

In addition to approval of the plant within 120 days, Entergy has asked the PSC for permission to bypass the competitive bid process and hand the contract to its preselected contractor, Grand Isle Shipyards.

“An RFP (request for proposals) wouldn’t have produced a more qualified vendor at a better cost,” said David Freese, a spokesman for Entergy Louisiana. The plant would be built at the company’s shipyard and moved to Leeville for installation.

Before it narrowed its options, Entergy also considered combined-cycle gas turbines, solar and simple-cycle combustion turbines, Freese said. Offshore wind was not considered because of the costs of building a transmission line to the offshore turbines, the intermittent nature of wind and the potential impact of hurricanes on those turbines, he said.

Coastal researcher Alex Kolker, an associate professor at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium who specializes in oceanography, geology and climate science, said the region is prone to storms and extreme weather that is being made more intense by climate change.

Utility consumer advocate Burke said it appears the company is doubling down on its reliance on fossil fuels, ignoring the inherent climate risks.

“It’s very clear that we are in a in a loop of irony at this point where the hotter it gets, the more water there is, and the less land there is as a result of oil and gas extraction, all while Louisiana is so interconnected to those international oil and gas systems,” Burke said. “So we ‘need’ to build something that is incredibly vulnerable in a place that is vulnerable because of oil and gas.”

Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.

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FOSSIL FUELS: President Biden campaigned on ending fossil fuel industry subsidies but has so far failed to break a century-old trend and keep them out of the federal budget. (New York Times)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Electric vehicle prices have plummeted over the last two years, with the average purchase price now only $5,000 higher than the average for gasoline-powered vehicles. (Washington Post)
• The U.S. Energy Department will loan more than $2 billion to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine under development in northern Nevada, which would produce electric vehicle battery materials. (Associated Press)
• The United Auto Workers tries for the third time to unionize Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but so far sees diminishing returns. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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HYDROGEN: An analysis concludes that “blue” and “green” hydrogen could be cost competitive with natural gas by 2030, but that meeting national demand might consume two-thirds of the country’s current renewable electricity. (Utility Dive)

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EMISSIONS:

• A federal court temporarily strikes down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules that would require public companies to disclose their climate risks and emissions. (The Hill)
• Republican attorneys general from 24 states suing over the Biden administration’s new rule to limit methane emissions say the policy is a “blatant attack on America’s oil and gas industry.” (E&E News, subscription)

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POLICY:

• House Republicans plan a slew of energy-related bills that would repeal a federal greenhouse gas reduction fund and deter challenges to energy projects from environmental groups, among other priorities. (E&E News)
• The Biden administration looks to finalize and implement new energy rules in the next few months, before they become vulnerable to a potential Republican administration. (E&E News, subscription)

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OFFSHORE WIND: Federal ocean energy officials officially designate a 32 GW wind energy area in the Gulf of Maine that is 80% smaller than what was first marked as a potential leasing area and excludes fishing and lobstering areas. (Maine Public)

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NUCLEAR: Oregon small modular reactor firm NuScale shifts from providing grid-scale power facilities to catering to “enormous energy consumers” such as data centers. (Utility Dive)

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SOLAR:

• Researchers studying blueberry production under a 4 MW solar farm in Rockport, Maine, find that the array “makes farming difficult and constricts blueberry production” but hope results will guide further investigations. (Maine Monitor)
• Texas added 6.5 GW of solar in 2023, surpassing California now twice in the last three years as the leading state for new solar installations. (Dallas Morning News)

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UTILITIES: Minnesota regulators will soon require the state’s three largest gas utilities to file long-term plans that forecast how they will meet demand while aligning with state policy priorities. (Energy News Network)

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