Good morning! One year ago, the Mountain Valley Pipeline entered production after opposition at regulatory meetings, in the courts, and at construction sites delayed the project for six years and more than doubled its cost to $7.85 billion. Now, pipeline officials say they’ve completed much of the required restoration — but critics dispute that assertion, saying there’s still widespread erosion problems.
Elsewhere, sources say the U.S. EPA isn’t enforcing oil and gas regulations because of President Trump’s push to boost energy production.
TODAY'S TOP NEWS
FOSSIL FUELS
One year after the Mountain Valley Pipeline entered service, crews are still working to restore the land and curb erosion, though critics say the destruction of forested land “created a wound that can never be really healed.” (Roanoke Times)
Sources reveal the U.S. EPA’s enforcement of oil and gas industry regulations has “effectively been paused” in Texas, Louisiana, and other states as the Trump administration pushes to boost production. (CNN)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis considers whether to sign or veto a bill to ban oil drilling along the Apalachicola River in response to a Louisiana company’s plans to drill an exploratory well. (Tallahassee Democrat)
A new report maps 58 GW of proposed gas-fired power plants in Texas to meet the rising power demands of data centers, including at least 108 new plants and 17 expansions seeking taxpayer support. (Houston Chronicle)
Texas regulators approve a 400 MW data center to be powered by modular gas units, with plans for an eventual 2 GW permanent natural gas plant. (Data Center Dynamics)
CLEAN ENERGY
The Republican former president of the West Virginia Senate leads a new ad campaign calling on Trump to preserve clean energy tax credits to boost economic development in the state. (West Virginia Watch)
Texas lawmakers conclude their legislative session after passing bills to give the state more control over power that flows through Texas, fund new generation projects, and create an office to advocate for nuclear energy — but without passing any of the numerous bills to restrict renewables. (Texas Tribune)
UTILITIES
Investor-owned Louisiana utility Cleco notifies state regulators it’s searching for a buyer. (Times-Picayune)
Duke Energy asks South Carolina regulators for a rate increase. (news release)
OVERSIGHT
An analyst says the Democratic primary for Virginia’s attorney general has become a “proxy fight” between Dominion Energy and Clean Virginia as the two entities funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to the two candidates. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Alabama’s coal mining regulator braces for a 16% cut in grants from Congress, which could affect the department to the point where it would require state lawmakers to budget more money or ask the federal government to take over. (Inside Climate News)
Georgia Democrats and Republicans prepare to nominate candidates for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission in party primaries this week after years of delay stemming from a 2022 lawsuit. (Capitol Beat News Service)
WIND
Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm near Virginia is nearly 60% finished and still on schedule for completion at the end of 2026 despite industry uncertainty. (Sierra)
EFFICIENCY
Congress considers a budget reconciliation bill that would eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helped Kentucky families pay their bills more than 219,000 times last year. (Northern Kentucky Tribune)
BIOMASS
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill to adjust the definition of “farm product” to allow for biomass byproducts and to protect biomass processing facilities against local regulations. (Florida Politics)
Alabama conservation groups dedicate nearly 8,000 acres of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta once proposed for a wood pellet project. (Inside Climate News)
NEW FROM CANARY
Clean energy advocates and companies wrestle with the failure of an Illinois bill that would’ve incentivized energy storage and other power grid investments, Kari Lydersen reports.
After years of delay, Ohio utility regulators are set to determine whether FirstEnergy will have to pay penalties exceeding half a billion dollars in response to the HB 6 power plant bailout scandal, Kathiann M. Kowalski reports.
The EPA’s proposed rollback of power plant emissions rules threatens to have severe health and climate consequences, though a long legal road still lies ahead, Kathryn Krawczyk reports.
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