16 May 2025

SOLAR

• Dominion Energy proposes cutting the value of credits paid to people with rooftop solar panels in Virginia by more than one-third, likely setting up a battle with solar advocates before the state’s regulatory board. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• India-based Waaree Energies announces it will invest an additional $200 million to double production at a Texas solar module factory to counter tariffs. (Electrek)
• Officials at an Arkansas water utility break ground on a 5 MW solar facility expected to lower its energy costs. (Talk Business & Politics)
• Summit Ridge Solar launches operations at a Virginia solar farm it says will be the first of 25 planned facilities in the state. (WHSV)
• Austin, Texas’ city council considers a resolution to place solar panels on city hall, schools, and other public buildings. (KEYE)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Tesla proposes a new lithium refinery near Corpus Christi, Texas, irking residents who are frustrated about the lack of limits for industrial water use as they face drought restrictions. (Texas Observer)
• A Tesla subcontractor that provides inspection and sorting services at its Texas factory announces it will lay off 50 workers amid the EV-maker’s slumping revenue. (Houston Chronicle)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Documents show that insurer Chubb is now longer covering the contentious Calcasieu Pass liquified natural gas export terminal in Louisiana after it withdrew for business reasons, perhaps because of new standards for methane emissions. (Inside Climate News)
• Texas lawmakers pass legislation to address 8,347 orphaned oil and gas wells in the state by allowing the owners of the leases or mineral rights to which they’re attached to cap them without taking on legal liability. (Houston Public Media)
• West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signs a bill allowing abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells to be plugged by filling the well with cement rather than removing it entirely. (West Virginia Watch)
• A North Carolina county board hears a presentation from the Williams Company on its plan to add 28 miles of pipeline to its Transco network. (WXII)
• Local officials and residents offer public input on Duke Energy’s plan to build a gas-fired power plant in North Carolina. (Courier-Times)

STORAGE

• Houston utility CenterPoint Energy and two companies break ground on a 160 MW battery storage facility that’s intended to provide “fast response power” during peak demand. (Houston Public Media)

POLITICS

• North Carolina lawmakers file bills to remove a 2030 carbon emissions reduction goal, phase out solar property tax exemptions, shift oversight of environmental agreements with the federal government, and redefine “clean energy” to include nuclear and hydroelectric. (Carolina Public Press)

GRID

• A Virginia city board recommends denial of rezoning for an industrial-size data center after hundreds of residents turn out in opposition to the project. (Virginian-Pilot)

FEDERAL CUTS

• The leader of a Virginia Tech program that pays farmers for “climate-smart” agricultural practices worried about cuts by the Trump administration, but now says it’s met the White House’s conditions and should be good to go. (Cardinal News)

COMMENTARY

• Recovery and rebuilding efforts in southern Appalachia after Hurricane Helene should be focused on the natural environment as well as human structures, writes a graduate student. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• A Virginia church saw its electric bill fall from $1,000 per month to less than $80 after it installed a 40 kW solar array, but Appalachian Power’s plan to drastically lower what it pays for excess energy will threaten the ability of others to do the same, writes a pastor. (Cardinal News)

NEW FROM CANARY

• House Republicans introduced budget legislation that contains a poison pill for clean energy installations and factories, Jeff St. John reports. 
• A new study adds to evidence that gas stoves pose serious health risks — especially for children, Alison F. Takemura reports. 
• As GOP lawmakers look to potentially gut the Inflation Reduction Act, it’s Republican-represented congressional districts that stand to lose the most, Dan McCarthy writes.