How new power transmission rules could have a big impact on the South

Posted on by Michael Randle

The federal government adopted new rules Monday requiring electric utilities to be more transparent and proactive in planning the huge transmission lines that send power across their territories.

Transmission is considered key to adding more renewable energy to the grid as fossil fuel-powered generation, particularly coal, is retired over the next decade. Stronger transmission across regions would also make the U.S. power supply more resilient to extreme temperatures and natural disasters, which scientists say are becoming more destructive as a result of climate change.

The rules, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), do not mandate construction of any new transmission infrastructure. They require utilities to publish regional plans that look 20 years ahead and respond to specific criteria, including the projected generation mix and corporate clean energy commitments.

They also allow the federal government to grant permits for new transmission in high-priority corridors if states do not.

The new rules follow a tightening of air pollution standards for power plants that provide electricity, a move observers say will accelerate the retirement of coal plants and make gas more difficult to pursue, thus boosting demand for renewables. Those new emissions rules, however, are being challenged in court.

Nick Guidi, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center who works on energy regulation, said the new FERC transmission rules bring much needed transparency and rigor to the existing planning process, which has been in place for over a decade and failed to produce much in the way of results, particularly in the South.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

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Momentum and money at center of Vanderbilt chancellor’s pursuit of business school in Florida

Posted on by Michael Randle

Elite universities often aspire to open outposts overseas to satisfy their ambitions to grow. Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier is looking no further than the Atlantic coast of Florida.

There, he is pursuing a satellite site for Vanderbilt’s business school, the Owen Graduate School of Management. The minimum $300 million expansion in West Palm Beach, a move that would double the enrollment and faculty tied to the Owen school, boils down to one statistic.

“For the first time in U.S. history, if you take these six [Southern] states, the GDP is higher than the Northeast. That’s never happened before,” Diermeier said in an interview. He’s referring to Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas.

“There is a relocation of talent and capital from the traditional centers of innovations on the coasts,” Diermeier said. “In this region of the country, characterized by this high growth, we have an undersupply of great research universities. We have an oversupply in the Northeast. Even places like the Midwest or California, have a lot more than we have in this part of the country.” Nashville Business Journal

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Mercedes-Benz asked Nick Saban to address Alabama workers after UAW launched organizing campaign

Posted on by Michael Randle

Mercedes-Benz earlier this year brought college football coaching legend Nick Saban to talk to workers at its auto manufacturing campus in Alabama after the UAW announced a bid to unionize the plants there.

Why it matters: Mercedes workers in Tuscaloosa County are voting this week on whether to join the UAW in what would be the union’s second victory in as many months after years of organizing failures in the South.

The big picture: Saban — who recently retired from coaching and joined ESPN as a commentator — is revered in Alabama for leading the Crimson Tide to seven national championships.

Saban owns multiple Mercedes dealerships and has reportedly said he does not endorse the UAW’s campaign.

Behind the scenes: “They don’t stop the line for hardly anything, but they shut the line down and they had a meeting with Nick Saban in there to talk to us about teamwork and the tactics and methods he used as a football coach,” Kay Finklea, a quality inspector at the site and a member of the UAW’s voluntary organizing committee in Tuscaloosa, tells Axios.

Axios

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Which states have the highest, least tax burden? See where Tennessee ranks

Posted on by Michael Randle

Residents in Tennessee are among the least burdened by taxes in the United States, according to a new report.

Visual Capitalist, a data company focused on global trends and the economy, put out a report that looked into the burden taxes put on residents in each state. The study found that Tennessee residents face one of the least tax burdens in the country.

Tax burden is measured as the percent of an average person’s income that is paid towards state and local taxes. The study considers property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.

Here is what the study said about the burden taxes put on residents across the United States.

New York residents spend the most of any state in the country. Here, a whopping 12% of their annual income goes to state and local government taxes.

  1. New York 12%
  2. Hawaii 11.8%
  3. Vermont 11.1%
  4. Maine 10.7%
  5. California 10.4%
  6. Connecticut 10.1%
  7. Minnesota 10%
  8. Illinois 9.7%
  9. New Jersey 9.5%
  10. Rhode Island and Utah 9.4%

The Tennessean

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Worley tapped to design Bayou Bend carbon capture and storage project near Houston

Posted on by Michael Randle

The owners of the Bayou Bend carbon capture and storage project along the Texas Gulf Coast have begun the design process.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) and TotalEnergies SE (NYSE: TTE), which are developing Bayou Bend CCS LLC between Houston and Port Arthur, have tapped Australian-based engineering firm Worley to design the carbon capture and storage project.

Worley has its main U.S. office in Houston as well as an office in Pasadena. The company is designing and evaluating carbon dioxide gathering, handling and sequestration facilities in Southeast Texas for the project from its Houston office, with support from its global integrated delivery teams in India.

“We’re committed to a strong partnership with Bayou Bend, drawing on our global CCUS knowledge and project execution experience,” Mark Trueman, group president of the Americas at Worley, said in a statement. “Innovative projects like Bayou Bend will potentially enable CCS at scale and help more companies achieve their net zero goals, supporting our purpose of delivering a more sustainable world.”

The project, which was initially a joint venture between Houston-based Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE: TALO) and Denver-based Carbonvert Inc., was selected as the winning bidder for the Texas General Land Office’s Jefferson County carbon storage lease offshore Beaumont and Port Arthur in 2021. It was the first offshore lease in the U.S. dedicated to carbon dioxide sequestration, according to the companies and the GLO. California-based Chevron joined the JV in May 2022 as the operator with a 50% stake.

Houston Business Journal

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$12.2 million investment will create 180 new jobs in Aiken, S.C.

Posted on by Michael Randle

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Columbia Vehicle Group (Columbia), an electric vehicle manufacturer, announced it selects Aiken County for the company’s first South Carolina operation. The company’s $12.2 million investment will create 180 new jobs.

Part of the Nordic Group of Companies, Columbia manufactures pure electric vehicles for industrial and commercial markets under the Columbia and Tomberlin brands. The company’s products, which include golf carts, utility vehicles, maintenance vehicles and e-bikes, are distributed globally.

Columbia is relocating manufacturing operations from Florida and Wisconsin to Aiken County for closer proximity to customers and its supply chain. The company will purchase and upfit the existing 154,480-square-foot facility located at 2063 University Parkway in Aiken. 

Operations will be phased in over the next 18 months. Individuals interested in joining the Columbia team should email jobs@columbiausa.com.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project. The council also awarded a $100,000 Set-Aside grant to Aiken County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

sccommerce.com

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Chatham megasite owned by Triad investors now has two companies. What about the other 1,300 acres?

Posted on by Michael Randle

Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF), the semiconductor manufacturer building a $5 billion facility in Chatham County, now has a neighbor at one of the county’s megasites.

Innovative Construction Group, which was acquired by national homebuilder PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) in 2020, announced in April it is investing roughly $40 million in operations in Siler City. It turns out they will build at the 1,800-acre Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) Site, which is owned by a pair of Triad investors.

D.H. Griffin and Tim Booras, president of Freedom Beverage Co. of Greensboro formed a partnership in 2005, combining their land to form what would become the CAM property, an 1802-acre megasite created to lure a major manufacturer. While D.H. Griffin, a demolition, construction and real estate giant, bought into the vision for the megasite nearly two decades ago, leadership of the family enterprises has since transitioned to son David Griffin.

Booras and Griffin sold 445 acres to Durham-based Wolfspeed for more than $15.2 million last March. The purchase price came to about $34,200 an acre.

With Innovative Construction Group occupying 45 acres and Wolfspeed on 445 acres, the CAM site still has 1,300 acres available.

And that land is “better positioned now as a megasite than than at any time in the past,” Brian Hall, president for real estate at Samet Corp., told TBJ last year. Samet is marketing the property.

Triad Business Journal

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John Deere confirms plans for $70M expansion, 150 new jobs in Kernersville, N.C.

Posted on by Michael Randle

John Deere confirmed Tuesday it plans an expansion of its campus in Kernersville, with a $70 million, 380,000-square-foot expansion and add about 150 workers.

“Kernersville has been an ideal location for John Deere for more than 35 years,” John Deere Kernersville General Manager Steve Brewer said in a news release from Greater Winston-Salem Inc. “We are excited to further invest in our future generation excavator portfolio and grow our engaged team.”

Deere was identified as the company behind a proposed economic-development package Forsyth County commissioners approved May 2 and was said at the time to be considering its existing sites in the U.S. and Mexico for expansion in excavator manufacturing. 

Formally known as Deere & Company, the Moline, Illinois, company opened in Kernersville in 1988 with a joint venture with Hitachi and taking it over completely when the joint venture ended in 2021. It has about 600 salaried and production employees, according to Greater Winston-Salem Inc.

Triad Business Journal

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It’s official: Travel + Leisure to move HQ to downtown Orlando after city approves incentives

Posted on by Michael Randle

Travel + Leisure Co. has been approved for incentives that will bring its global headquarters from Orlando’s tourism corridor to downtown.

The Orlando-based timeshare/vacation ownership giant (NYSE: TNL) was approved by the Orlando City Council on May 13. The company will move 908 jobs and create another 102 positions over five years, locating its offices at 501 W. Church St. from its current office on Sea Harbor Drive where its lease is expiring in 2025.

Commissioner Jim Gray abstained from voting because Michael Phipps and Colin Morrison with CBRE — the firm where Gray serves as Orlando office leader — handled the leasing for the building.

Travel + Leisure will lease the entire 182,461-square-foot building, Kim Marshall, chief human resources officer for Travel + Leisure, told Orlando Business Journal. The company is targeting late 2025 or early 2026 for the move, depending on factors like buildout.

Orlando Business Journal

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Owner of Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer announces $130M Georgia project

Posted on by Michael Randle

A high-end clothing company that owns many well-known brands will relocate and expand its South Georgia distribution operations.

Atlanta-based Oxford Industries Inc., which owns several retail brands including Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Johnny Was, announced Friday it will build an $130 million distribution facility in Lyons, which is roughly 185 miles southeast of Atlanta. The project is expected to add more than 60 new positions to the company’s South Georgia workforce.

The new facility will occupy a nearly 50-acre site along U.S. 1 in Lyons, a city in Toombs County of about 4,200 residents. The project is described as the first phase of a larger relocation and expansion project, which Oxford Chairman and CEO Tom Chubb said in a news release is “the largest capital investment in our company’s history in Toombs County.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution

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