ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A South Korean electric vehicle battery maker with a plant under construction in Georgia inks a deal to support Ford Motor Co’s electric vehicle rollout. (Reuters)

ALSO:
• Two North Carolina experts call for the installation of more chargers across the state to overcome consumer anxiety about electric vehicle mileage. (WFAE)
• A Texas city deploys its first municipal electric vehicle, to be used by its information technology department. (KCEN)

GRID:
• Texas lawmakers repeatedly ignored warnings about the vulnerability of the state’s electric grid, making policy decisions that experts say resulted in the grid becoming less reliable and more susceptible to weather-related emergencies. (Houston Chronicle)
• February’s winter storm cost power companies more than $10 billion, largely from the skyrocketing cost of fuel and purchasing supplemental power. (S&P Global)

PIPELINES:
• The Colonial Pipeline confirms it paid $4.4 million to hackers after a ransomware attack on its computer systems. (Associated Press)
• A circuit judge dismisses landowners’ claims of fraud and collusion in ruling that Louisville Gas & Electric Co. can condemn land in Kentucky for a proposed natural gas pipeline. (WDRB)

SOLAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority announces a partnership to build a 150 MW solar farm in Tennessee that will mostly power a Facebook data center. (WATN)

COAL: An Appalachian think tank reports the cost of reclaiming old coal mines across the country could come close to $26 billion, including $126 million just in Tennessee. (Daily Yonder, Tennessee Lookout)

OIL & GAS:
• Kentucky regulators approve a rate increase for Columbia Gas of Kentucky to cover the rising cost of natural gas. (WSAZ)
• U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas cites fuel shortages after the Colonial Pipeline shutdown to justify a failed attempt to pass regulations enabling the bulk shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail. (E&E News, subscription)

OVERSIGHT: West Virginia’s fossil fuel industry leaders want to restart the state’s dormant Public Energy Authority to share oversight with the regulatory Public Service Commission and actively support coal and natural gas. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

STORAGE: Duke Energy partners with a storage company to study the conversion of retired coal plants into zero-emission energy storage systems. (PV Magazine)

EMISSIONS:
• Experts say Georgia is ahead of most states in cutting carbon emissions but still has a long way to go to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of a 50% reduction by 2030. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• The New Orleans City Council advances a proposal to require Entergy New Orleans to generate 90% of its power from renewables by 2040 and provide power without any greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. (NOLA.com)
• A Florida appeals court upholds a ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by eight young people challenging the state’s reliance on fossil fuels. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• West Virginia regulators consider adding a new charge to state ratepayers’ electric bills for utilities to lay broadband internet fiber. (Mountain State Spotlight)
• A Florida town makes progress on a 10-year, $128 million plan to bury all overhead power, cable television and phone lines by 2026. (Palm Beach Daily News)

COMMENTARY:
• The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack was enabled in part by a business culture that has resisted efforts to hold it to robust cybersecurity standards, writes a journalist. (The New Yorker)
• An environmental group lauds South Carolina regulators for approving a solar tariff that allows Duke Energy to incorporate surge pricing, but also credits smart thermostats and rooftop solar customers who provide energy during high demand. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• North Carolina should encourage widespread adoption of electric school buses as a way to relieve pressure on gasoline supplies after this month’s panic, writes an editorial board. (WRAL)

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.