COAL: Duke Energy announces plans to close its remaining coal plants by 2035 and spend more than $100 billion to double its renewable capacity over the next decade. (E&E News)

ALSO: More than 23 GW of coal-fired power is slated to close in 2028 to avoid complying with new environmental rules, including more than 3,500 MW in Georgia alone. (S&P Global)

OVERSIGHT: A Republican state senator says Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin seems ready to find a new cabinet nominee after Democrats blocked former Trump EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration will require states to submit proposals to access $5 billion to build electric vehicle chargers, with Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia lining up in preparation. (New York Times, WBKO, WCNC, KTUL, WAVY)

GRID:
• Texans struggle with climate-induced trauma one year after a powerful winter storm nearly knocked out the power grid and resulted in hundreds of deaths. (Texas Observer)
• As Texas frets over ways to strengthen its grid against extreme cold weather, a state meteorologist notes freezing weather conditions are becoming more infrequent. (Laredo Morning Times)

SOLAR: A 115 MW solar farm begins operating in West Virginia, with its power going to American Electric Power and Toyota. (Renewables Now)

CLIMATE:
• Virginia Republicans pursue legislation to withdraw the state from a regional carbon trading market, but the Democratic-controlled Senate has already killed a similar version of the bill. (WVTF)
• The federal infrastructure package includes more than $1 billion for Florida’s treasured and troubled Everglades, the subject of one of the most ambitious attempts at ecological restoration in history. (WMFE)

CRYPTO: Texas welcomes crypto miners with the idea that their energy-intensive operations can strengthen the grid by running hard and then cutting consumption when needed to reduce grid stress. (Washington Post)

GAS & OIL:
• Virginia lawmakers advance a bill to prohibit local governments from banning natural gas hookups. (Virginia Mercury)
• Canadian crude oil exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast hit a new record as global demand coincides with new pipeline connections and expansions that just came online last year. (Reuters)

 UTILITIES:
• A Mississippi regulator disagrees with the Tennessee Valley Authority and says it can’t block local utility companies from powering medical cannabis facilities. (Daily Journal)
• With four nominees for its nine seats still stalled in Congress, the Tennessee Valley Authority board delegates more power to its CEO for land purchases, capital projects and economic development incentives. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

NUCLEAR: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee voices support for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s intention to build a small modular reactor park. (Oak Ridger, Power)

GEOTHERMAL: West Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to establish a regulatory framework for geothermal energy. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

COMMENTARY: West Virginia lawmakers’ lifting of a state ban on nuclear power plant construction must be followed by years of regulatory work, technological development and construction before nuclear can even begin to replace coal, writes an opinion editor. (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)

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.