ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A $54 million expansion at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama will support electric vehicle production and more than 370 new jobs. (Tuscaloosa News)

ALSO:
• The Nashville area is one of two finalists for the location of a Canadian company’s new electric car manufacturing plant. (Tennessean)
• Tampa’s transit agency deploys the city’s first self-driving shuttle bus, an all-electric vehicle that will travel a “virtual rail” downtown. (My News 13)

PIPELINES: Federal regulators lift a stop-work order for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and give the developer another two years to finish the project. (Roanoke Times)

POWER PLANTS: A company that received a state loan guarantee to build a natural gas power plant in West Virginia now says the project is on hold “due to changing conditions in the energy and financial markets.” (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:
• Duke Energy says it will double renewable generation by 2025 and eliminate or offset methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030. (Florida Politics)
• A Tennessee congressman defends his calls to two Memphis city councilors before a vote rejecting a contract by the municipal utility to study alternatives to buying power from the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Commercial Appeal)

OVERSIGHT: Two candidates on the ballot in Texas are vying for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas production. (KVUE)

SOLAR:
• Clean energy advocates hope the proliferation of solar projects in Florida can help break partisan deadlock over climate change. (Palm Beach Post)
• A solar developer seeking to build a $100 million project on agricultural land will present to a Florida county’s planning and zoning board next week. (Ocala StarBanner)
• A Fort Lauderdale fence and railing manufacturer completes Florida’s largest privately owned solar project on its rooftop. (Solar Power World)
• Hampton Roads, Virginia, residents and businesses learn about solar opportunities through a solar group-buying cooperative. (WAVY)
• A 100 megawatt solar project is now generating power for Entergy Arkansas. (Magnolia Reporter)

WIND: A sightseeing trip gave Virginia officials an up close look at a pair of massive offshore wind turbines off of Virginia Beach’s coast. (Virginian-Pilot)

HURRICANE DELTA: Gulf Coast oil and gas operations begin to restart, utility crews work to restore power, and Louisiana residents start to pick up the pieces again in the wake of Hurricane Delta. (Reuters, WBRZ, NOLA.com)

COAL: An eastern Kentucky coal miner is killed in an accident while operating a hydro gun at a Bell County surface mine, officials said. (Associated Press)

COAL ASH: More than 100 million tons of coal ash remain in the unlined ponds at 11 of Duke Energy’s 14 power plants in North Carolina. (NC Policy Watch)

COMMENTARY:
• A clean energy group says the Tennessee Valley Authority’s stalled decarbonization efforts are hurting the region. (CleanEnergy.org)
• Duke University’s director of biogas strategy says capturing methane from livestock manure and agricultural waste is good for the environment and North Carolina’s economy. (Fayetteville Observer)
• A conservationist says it’s time for Virginia leaders to protect the state’s waters and endangered species from the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (Blue Virginia)

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Dan Haugen

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.