PIPELINES: A federal court has twice struck down necessary permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, but the five energy companies behind the joint venture are still looking for ways to complete work by this summer. (Roanoke Times)

OIL & GAS:
• Louisiana regulators approve long-term plans for five rural electric cooperatives that will use renewables for more than a third of their power, but environmentalists criticize the plans’ reliance on a new shared natural gas plant. (The Advocate)
• West Virginia officials say a vandalized oil tank leaked mineral oil into a nearby river. (WYMT)

GRID: The Texas power grid largely held up during last week’s winter storm, but critics question whether it can sustain harsher weather like the storm that nearly knocked it out last year. (Bloomberg, WFAA)

NUCLEAR: West Virginia lawmakers pass a bill to repeal a state ban on building nuclear power plants. (State Journal)

TRANSITION: Mississippi begins a sharp turn toward more renewable energy sources, driven by market forces rather than laws or climate goals. (Mississippi Today)

CLIMATE: Nonprofit and university officials work with Virginia to launch a carbon credit program linked to seagrass. (Virginian-Pilot)

OVERSIGHT: ​​Virginia Republicans propose limiting the powers of citizen boards that oversee major water, air and waste decisions for projects such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (Virginia Mercury)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Florida transportation group seeks local businesses, nonprofits and government offices to help it apply for federal funding to build more public electric car charging stations. (Florida Times-Union)
• London-based electric vehicle maker Arrival prepares to launch its U.S. business with headquarters in North Carolina. (The Times, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• The Tennessee Valley Authority navigates whether it can provide power to marijuana growers now that Mississippi has legalized medical use, despite federal prohibitions. (Daily Journal)
• A West Virginia county board speaks out against Appalachian Power’s request for a rate increase to cover wind and solar projects in other states. (WOWK)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority reinstates in-person listening sessions in western Kentucky for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. (Bowling Green Daily News)

CARBON CAPTURE: Mississippi officials investigate the explosion of a carbon dioxide pipeline that resulted in the evacuation of 300 people and sent 45 to the hospital. (The Gazette)

CRYPTOCURRENCY: Cryptocurrency miners flock to Texas in search of abundant energy, but critics warn the energy-intensive operations will lead to more carbon emissions and potentially destabilize the power grid. (KVUE)

COMMENTARY:
• Carbon-capture technology represents a step toward reducing emissions, but is not a substitute for moving faster on solar, wind and blue hydrogen, writes a columnist. (NOLA.com)
• Florida Power & and Light is “pulling out all stops” to pass legislation to grant it more control over solar energy generation at the expense of homeowners who want to install solar panels, writes an editorial board. (Miami Herald)
• South Carolina’s passage of legislation to look closer at offshore wind energy and its place in the supply chain marks a momentous step forward after years wasted exploring nuclear expansion, writes an editorial board. (Post and Courier)

Mason has worked as a journalist since 2001, covering Appalachian communities and the issues that affect them. He compiles the Southeast Energy News digest. Mason previously worked as a wildlife biologist before moving into journalism by freelancing at Coast Weekly in Monterey, California, before taking an internship in 2001 at High Country News. He wrote for the Enterprise Mountaineer in western North Carolina and the Roanoke Times in western Virginia before going freelance in 2012. His work has appeared in Southerly, Daily Yonder, Mother Jones, Huffington Post, WVPB’s Inside Appalachia and elsewhere. Mason was born and raised in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and now lives with his family and a small herd of goats in Floyd County, Virginia.