EMISSIONS: Virginia lawmakers are poised to pass a bipartisan bill to encourage natural gas utilities to invest in projects that capture and reduce methane emissions, including from landfills and livestock facilities, despite criticism from environmental groups. (Virginia Mercury)

ALSO: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case brought by West Virginia and other states challenging the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gasses. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators rescind a license extension for two Florida Power & Light reactors, ordering a new review of potential environmental risks. (Associated Press)

BIOMASS:
• North Carolina residents push back against a company’s efforts to restart a power plant that burns poultry waste to generate electricity and dry wood chips. (News & Observer)
• A California company will build a manufacturing facility in Louisiana to turn wood residue into a chemical used to make plastic. (The Advocate)

SOLAR:
• A Virginia county with more than 18 solar farms up and running or beginning the approval process thinks through how to balance tax revenue against residents’ concerns about their visual impact. (Chatham Star-Tribune)
• Florida Power & Light considers a 75 MW solar farm that would be its third in a Florida county. (NorthEscambia.com)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A North Carolina city installs an electric vehicle charging station designed to attach to utility poles, reducing installation costs and offering an option for curbside charging. (WFAE)
• A report paid for by an Oklahoma business group suggests upgrading a state incentive program to better compete for large economic development projects such as an electric vehicle battery factory. (Tulsa World)
• Arkansas’ governor signs an order creating an advisory council to ensure the state is ready for electric vehicles. (KFSM)

COAL:
• West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill to strip the state’s mine enforcement office of nearly all enforcement powers after a failed attempt to send it back to committee. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, Inter-Mountain)
• Southwest Virginia officials look for ways to rebuild the region’s economy after the decline of the coal industry brought economic distress and a drop in population. (Virginia Business)
• The head of West Virginia’s coal association tracks state legislation focused on nuclear and renewables with potential implications for the coal industry. (WV News)

HYDROGEN: West Virginia’s governor meets with three members of its congressional delegation as part of an effort to win federal funding for a hydrogen hub. (Inter-Mountain)

OVERSIGHT: A Georgia judge will decide this week whether to delay the process to qualify candidates for a state utility regulation board until after resolving a lawsuit that claims the process is rigged against Black candidates. (Georgia Recorder)

CARBON CAPTURE: A Florida brewery uses barrels to trap carbon dioxide released in the brewing process, which it uses to carbonate and package more beer. (Tampa Bay Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A Virginia county board should delay consideration of a 149.5 MW solar farm out of concern over process and potential erosion into the nearby James River, writes an editorial board. (Daily Progress)
• A columnist warns of a ploy in Virginia in which scammers pose as electric utilities to try to obtain money. (Roanoke Times)

Correction: The 50th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek disaster occurred Saturday. An item in Friday’s newsletter incorrectly stated the day of the anniversary. 

 

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.