BIOMASS: In a letter signaling their intent to sue, three environmental groups accuse a South Carolina wood pellet manufacturer of “significant, repeated, and ongoing” Clean Air Act violations. (Charlotte Observer)

ACTIVISM: Students in a virtual event and in-person rally demand that the University of North Carolina stop using its coal-fired power plant by 2023. (Daily Tar Heel)

***SPONSORED LINK: The National Solar Tour is going virtual! Sep. 24-Oct. 4. Meet solar owners from around the country. Hear about their experience going solar. Explore new technologies. Learn about solar’s role in energy equity and community empowerment.***

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• North Carolina electric cooperatives work to expand access to electric vehicle charging in rural communities with Volkswagen settlement money. (WRAL)
• A North Carolina town welcomes its first electric vehicle fast charger — and the first along a 121-mile stretch of Interstate 77. (Elkin Tribune)

BATTERIES:
• An electric vehicle battery plant northeast of Atlanta plans to hire more than 1,000 skilled workers by the end of 2021 as it prepares for production. (Green Car Congress)
• A virtual ribbon-cutting is held for an Arkansas facility that will extract lithium, a key material in batteries, from an industrial byproduct. (Talk Business)

SOLAR: A North Carolina county recently approved a permit for construction of a 950-acre solar farm. (WNCT)

CLEAN ENERGY: A recent virtual summit highlighted the potential of clean energy to be an economic driver for North Carolina. (Coastal Review Online)

UTILITIES: A Florida utility says increased costs from its investment in a nuclear power plant will be partially offset by retiring coal-fired units. (Jacksonville Daily Record)

OIL & GAS: University of Houston researchers will collaborate with Southern states to deploy carbon-reducing technologies in the oil and gas industry. (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES: The Permian Basin suddenly finds itself with too many pipelines and not enough oil to fill them. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)

POLITICS:
• West Texas oil and fracking billionaires are pouring money into a North Texas Senate race, campaign finance reports show. (Dallas Morning News)
• A new campaign ad for Sen. Mitch McConnell features coal miners who appeared in an ad for his Democratic opponent a year ago. (WYMT)

COMMENTARY:
• A Central Florida organization is helping traditionally underserved communities upgrade to high-efficiency air conditioners and solar panels. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Increasing renewable energy such as solar has far-reaching economic, consumer, and environmental benefits for South Carolina, a state senator and environmental advocates write. (Post and Courier)

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.