PIPELINES: A new analysis by a clean energy think tank says changes to the natural gas market since the Mountain Valley Pipeline was announced in 2014 have undercut the economic case for building the long-delayed project. (Gazette-Mail)

ALSO: The Pittsylvania NAACP passes a resolution opposing an air permit for a Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station near Chatham, Virginia. (Chatham Star Tribune)

***SPONSORED LINK: Check out the Squeaky Clean Energy Podcast by NCSEA! Get a fresh take on North Carolina’s clean energy landscape with biweekly episodes. Available wherever you get your podcast or at: www.energync.org/podcast.***

OFFSHORE WIND: As Virginia looks ahead to a growing offshore wind industry, a trade school begins training a homegrown clean energy workforce in a first-of-its-kind wind turbine technician program. (Energy News Network) 

GRID:
• Tesla is secretly building a gigantic battery — big enough to power 20,000 homes on a hot summer day — that will connect to Texas’ grid. (Bloomberg)
• More communities are turning to giant batteries to protect vulnerable people and infrastructure during power outages, especially as prices decline. (NPR)
• South Carolina lawmakers hold a hearing with utility executives and tout the differences between the state’s grid and the one in Texas. (Post and Courier)

EQUITY: The U.S. Energy Department’s first-ever deputy director of energy justice says the country needs to examine the structural racism and inequality “baked into the energy system.” (NBC News)

OVERSIGHT:
• Another Texas utility regulator resigns following the deadly February blackouts that left millions of people without electricity or heat for days. (Associated Press)
• Texas’ attorney general launches an investigation into the natural gas market, which forced utilities to pay exorbitant prices for fuel last month. (Express-News)
• State lawmakers plan a slate of bills in response to the power outages, but experts are skeptical whether there will be meaningful change. (Texas Tribune)

COAL: South Carolina utility Santee Cooper restarted an idled coal unit last month as natural gas prices spiked amid a historic cold snap. (Post and Courier)

CLIMATE: A Florida lawmaker says adapting to climate change is a better solution than trying to reduce emissions, as a legislative committee advances sweeping legislation to help communities respond to rising sea levels. (Florida Politics)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A social media contest in Chattanooga encourages residents to take and share photos of the city’s 14 electric vehicle charging stations. (Times Free Press)

POLITICS: A dozen states, including Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, sue President Biden over his executive order on climate change. (USA Today)

COMMENTARY:
• The undetected leak of 800 gallons of crude oil last year at a Mississippi storage site proves “there is no such thing as a safe oil pipeline,” an environmental group says. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• South Carolina utility Santee Cooper’s reliance on old, dirty coal plants cost the debt-addled utility during last month’s arctic outbreak. (Fits News) 

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.