PIPELINES: The Memphis City Council delays a vote on an ordinance to expand regulations that might block the proposed Byhalia Connection pipeline, while the mayor calls for more scrutiny of the project by local, state and federal officials. (Commercial Appeal)
ALSO: A protester locks herself to Mountain Valley Pipeline equipment to delay construction for four hours before she is extracted and arrested, while more than 60 conversation and environmental groups call on federal regulators to suspend the project. (Roanoke Times, news release)
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OVERSIGHT:
• This weekend’s runoff election for Louisiana’s 2nd District features two candidates with sharply differing views of the district’s oil and natural gas industries, with one accepting nearly $20,000 in industry money despite a campaign pledge against it. (E&E News, subscription; NOLA.com)
• Oklahoma lawmakers pass bills to let utilities use loans to spread out storm-driven spikes in gas and electricity costs to customers over as much as 30 years. (Tulsa World)
OIL & GAS:
• A billionaire and former head of natural-gas derivatives at Enron Corp says he sees a “seismic shift” away from oil toward renewables in Houston’s energy industry, making him more optimistic about decarbonization. (Bloomberg)
• A retired Army general who oversaw New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina clean-up cites the 2010 BP oil spill and recent capsizing of a liftboat as evidence of “a problem in Louisiana with safety when it comes to the oil and gas business.” (WWLTV)
UTILITIES:
• Mississippi Power files a plan to retire 975 MW of generation by 2027, including three natural gas units and the remainder of its coal-fired plants. (E&E News, subscription)
• President Joe Biden nominates four people with environmental and labor-friendly backgrounds to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board, likely signalling an increased focus on further reducing its carbon emissions. (E&E News, subscription; Commercial Appeal)
• Chattanooga Gas asks Tennessee regulators for a rate increase to cover growing demand and infrastructure. (Chattanoogan)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors projects a new electric vehicle battery plant built with LG Energy Solution and Ultium Cells at its Spring Hill plant in Tennessee will be operational by late 2023. (Nashville Post)
• The Cherokee Nation announces two electric transit buses, new charging stations and an electric school bus, the first of its kind in Oklahoma. (Siloam Springs Herald-Leader)
• Florida lawmakers advance legislation to prohibit localities from regulating gas stations, including requiring them to include electric vehicle chargers. (Florida Politics)
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SOLAR:
• A wholesale energy provider buys a 118 MW Oklahoma wind farm to sell power to Amazon. (Renewables Now)
• The Hershey Company signs agreements for a 20 MW solar farm in North Carolina and 50 MW of a previously announced Texas solar project under construction. (Renews)
• Consultants and local board members criticize a plan to build a 20 MW solar farm in Kentucky as not “planned the right way,” pressing instead to source renewable power from a contracted agency. (State Journal)
COMMENTARY: Texas’ history of fossil fuel extraction, status at the forefront of the clean-energy revolution and exposure to severe weather should put it at the table for conversations about climate change and energy production, write two conservationists. (Dallas Morning News)