ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Virginia’s participation in a regional climate initiative funds top-of-the-line energy efficiency measures during a phased renovation of 450 apartments and townhomes in a public housing complex. (Energy News Network)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Florida’s second largest municipal utility moves to buy a natural gas-fired power plant as part of a plan to retire two coal plants by 2027 and transition to 100% clean energy by midcentury. (WMFE)
• A bipartisan majority of more than 60% of Virginians supports efforts to cut fossil fuels, strengthen energy efficiency and shift to clean energy by 2050, according to polling by a conservative clean-energy group. (Virginia Mercury)
SOLAR: A Louisiana landowner and solar company propose a 3,400-acre solar farm to provide power for Entergy, generating opposition from some neighbors. (KPLC)
OIL & GAS: Mississippi officials mark the beginning of a natural gas line expansion project by Atmos Gas. (Starkville Daily News)
PIPELINES:
• Landowners in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline seek a temporary injunction to prevent blasting over concerns it could contaminate their well water and that of others downstream. (Roanoke Times)
• Atlanta Gas Light contractors complete portions of a pipeline through a Georgia city to an International Paper plant. (Rome News-Tribune)
COAL:
• A nonprofit Appalachian law firm holds an online conference to discuss the challenges, assistance programs and potential policy fixes for people with black lung disease. (WTVQ)
• Two West Virginia coal miners die in unrelated incidents. (WV MetroNews)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Texas city installs two electric vehicle chargers as part of a downtown renovation project. (Texarkana Gazette)
UTILITIES:
• Florida Power & Light informs state regulators it has reached a settlement with customer and business representatives that will increase its base electric rates and add more solar generation. (News Service of Florida/WJCT)
• A Texas utility asks state regulators to approve a program to deploy advanced digital electric meters to retail customers. (Marshall News Messenger)
• A municipal utility in southern Virginia asks customers to conserve energy today due to high demand amid higher-than-average summer temperatures. (WFXR)
• A city-owned utility in west Texas presses for rate increases to boost grid reliability. (KTSM)
WIND:
• Federal regulators collect public comments on a proposed 69-turbine wind farm off the shore of North Carolina. (Public Radio East)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: Texas lures crypto miners through incentives like generous programs that pay out when large industrial and commercial customers curtail energy consumption during periods of high demand. (S&P Global)
CLIMATE:
• A recent report on climate change contains especially dire warnings for Louisiana, where a third of the state will likely be hit as the Gulf of Mexico rises by 1½ feet or more in the next 30 years. (NOLA.com)
• Georgia officials and clean energy advocates meet to talk about solar energy, electric vehicles and sustainability ahead of a two-day climate conference. (Brunswick News)
COMMENTARY: Natural gas development has not generated economic prosperity for West Virginia, spotlighting the state’s need to shift from its reliance on fossil fuels, writes the co-author of a study on natural gas in Appalachian communities. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)