GRID: Scientists warn Texas regulators to account for the worsening effects of climate change as they examine past weather patterns to craft rules for power plant winterization. (Texas Tribune)

OVERSIGHT: North Carolina regulators close most of the loopholes in state rules that ban public utilities from passing along lobbying and advertising expenses to ratepayers. (NC Policy Watch)

NUCLEAR:
• Georgia regulators consider changes to how cost overruns are handled for Georgia Power’s long-delayed and over-budget Plant Vogtle expansion, planning to wait until the final two reactors are operating before deciding if the utility’s expenses are reasonable. (Georgia Recorder)
• Virginia regulators issue warnings about harmful algae blooms in Lake Anna, which cools a nearby Dominion Energy nuclear power plant. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

OIL & GAS:
• Drillers in west Texas and New Mexico’s Permian Basin are increasingly consolidating to strengthen their presence in the U.S.’s most active oilfield. (Carlsbad Current Argus, Texas Monthly)
• A dozen oil, gas and extraction-related industry groups sue in a Louisiana federal court district to resume new federal oil and gas leases, even as the Biden administration challenges a previous court ruling that blocks a pause on leasing. (S&P Global, Reuters)
• Texas gas utilities ask state regulators to approve a surcharge on customer’s bills to pay for natural gas used during February’s winter storm. (Austin Monitor)

SOLAR: A Georgia county board approves a rezoning application to allow construction of a solar array. (Valdosta Daily Times)

WIND: A Virginia city prepares for an in-person, offshore wind conference next week. (Patch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Tennessee Valley Authority says its goal is to place fast chargers every 50 miles along interstates and highways as the federal infrastructure bill ramps up expectations for electric vehicles. (Newsy)

TRANSITION: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin courts off-road vehicle manufacturers to relocate to West Virginia due to the popularity of riding on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in coal-producing regions. (WV MetroNews, WSAZ)

GEOTHERMAL: Researchers at West Virginia University work on how to improve existing geothermal technology by using a pump to bring warm water to the Earth’s surface. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

BIOFUELS: Researchers at the University of Kentucky study innovative uses for spent grains from bourbon and other whiskeys, including livestock feed and energy production. (WTVQ)

CLIMATE: A new report warns that the unchecked effects of climate change could make outdoor jobs in hot Southeastern states like Florida more unbearable, unprofitable and dangerous. (Miami Herald)

COMMENTARY: Louisiana’s energy industry is evolving well beyond its oil-heavy history as utilities invest in renewables and begin to explore the potential of offshore wind, writes a state regulator. (The Advocate)

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Mason Adams

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.