9 February 2026 • Supported by |
Happy Monday. Virginia may be for lovers, but, for the most part, it is not for solar. Nearly two-thirds of its counties have de facto bans on large-scale installations, but as Elizabeth Ouzts reports in today’s lead story, lawmakers are now pushing to change that.
Next up, Jeff St. John profiles a U.S.-based green-hydrogen startup with something rare: real customers and viable projects.
And our last piece for today comes from Ysabelle Kempe, who spotlights the contradictions between the Trump administration’s attacks on solar and the fairly positive feelings his base has toward photovoltaics. |
CLEAN ENERGY
- Tesla is ramping up hiring and evaluating sites in New York, Arizona, and Idaho to start manufacturing solar cells amid CEO Elon Musk’s calls for the firm to radically expand its solar business. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
- Wyoming ranchers call on state lawmakers to respect private property rights by allowing them to lease their land to wind developers. (Cowboy State Daily)
AFFORDABILITY
- Amid rising energy-affordability concerns, more Americans view Democrats as the party most committed to slashing utility bills, according to a new poll. (E&E News)
FOSSIL FUELS
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to visit Venezuela soon to discuss the future of the country’s state-owned oil company. (Politico)
- The Army Corps of Engineers releases its final environmental review of a plan to tunnel the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac, setting off a timeline that could result in final permits as early as next month. (Bridge)
OFFSHORE WIND
- Revolution Wind, halted twice by the Trump administration, could start generating power within weeks and reach full commercial operation by the second half of 2026, as long as federal interference doesn’t create any more delays. (RTO Insider)
DATA CENTERS
- Newly proposed legislation in New York would impose a three-year moratorium on data center development to allow the state to figure out how to prevent such facilities from increasing electricity rates for residents. (E&E News)
- Google and TotalEnergies sign a power purchase agreement for the French energy giant to deliver 1 GW of solar capacity to Google’s Texas data centers, which will flow from major solar farms under development in the state. (Reuters)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
- California advocates and industry accuse state regulators of destabilizing the heavy-duty electric truck market by subsidizing Tesla Semis to the tune of $165 billion, saying the model is unproven and unready for mass production. (Los Angeles Times)
CLIMATE
- Several states are considering climate “superfund” bills that would force fossil-fuel companies to help pay for the damage caused by burning their products, despite the Trump administration’s aggressive opposition to existing laws in New York and Vermont. (New York Times)
HEATING
- Vermont energy regulators officially end the state’s stalled plan to create a Clean Heat Standard, which aimed to reduce the use of fossil fuels in home heating. (WCAX)
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