CLIMATE:
• Climate change has already permanently changed places like Florida, where the environmental and economic impacts from storms, flooding and temperature rise are likely to worsen, according to a new U.N. report. (Miami Herald)
• A Florida Democrat who has been one of the most outspoken advocates for carbon pricing in Congress announces he is resigning. (E&E News, subscription)
EMISSIONS:
• West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey led arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought by 19 states over whether the U.S. EPA has the authority to regulate carbon emissions. (News and Sentinel)
• A group of 15 states led by Texas sues the Biden administration over its clean car rule, which aims to increase fuel economy and reduce emissions from cars and trucks. (E&E News, subscription)
POLITICS: A Virginia Senate committee kills a House bill that would have restored state regulators’ ability to determine whether large clean energy projects are necessary and cost effective. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Oklahoma offers $15 million to EV manufacturer Canoo as part of a package to bring thousands of new tech and manufacturing jobs to the state. (The Frontier)
• Duke Energy recently completed a pilot program that installed 627 EV charging stations in public spaces and on thoroughfares in Florida. (Daily Energy Insider)
• Gainesville, Florida, is expected to approve funding from Georgia Power to build 32 EV charging stations in a downtown parking deck. (Gainesville Times)
COAL:
• San Antonio’s CPS Energy approves a plan to build a $50 million coal ash retention pond for its J.K. Spruce Power Plant despite opposition from environmentalists who want the plant retired. (San Antonio Report)
• Several coal miners and union representatives oppose a West Virginia bill that would shift the state mining agency’s focus from inspections and enforcement to assisting mine operators. (MetroNews)
• A coal miner died Monday in an accident in southern West Virginia — the fourth reported fatality in a U.S. mine this year. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• A Texas law barring state pension funds from going to banks that choose not to do business with oil and gas companies could directly harm teachers’ retirement savings. (KVUE)
• The Biden administration won’t challenge a federal court ruling that invalidated 1.7 million acres worth of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. (Washington Post)
GRID: Texas electric utilities, transmission operators and power generators must file more comprehensive Emergency Operations Plans with state regulators next month that cover supply chain, weather and cyberattack risks. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES: After customers complain about rising bills, a Tennessee utility CEO blames the costs on cold weather and poor insulation. (WJHL)
COMMENTARY: Solar developers are being lured to Texas by its fast-growing demand, cheap land, and plentiful sunshine, an opinion editor writes. (Beaumont Enterprise)