ELECTRIC VEHICLES: As electric vehicle use grows in Virginia, state regulators face questions about the role of utilities and how well the market can guide expansion of charging station infrastructure. (Virginia Mercury)

ALSO:
• County commissioners in Austin, Texas, approve tax breaks worth at least $14 million over 10 years if Tesla decides to build a $1.1 billion electric vehicle factory there. (Austin American-Statesman)
• Oklahoma is seeking applications from communities that want funding to install electric vehicle charging stations. (Oklahoman)

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UTILITIES: Clean energy advocates are challenging incumbents in two Virginia utility co-op board elections this summer. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR:
• An environmental law firm objects to a proposal by Duke Energy Florida in which customers could voluntarily pay more to help finance 10 solar projects. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)
• Solar installations are springing up across the Atlanta metro area, driven by high electricity prices and falling solar costs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• County officials interrogate a solar developer about its plans and the potential impact of a 100 megawatt project in northern Virginia. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
• Tulane University researchers are part of a team that’s developed a hybrid solar energy converter that efficiently generates electricity and steam. (Science Daily)

REGULATION:
• President Trump finalizes a major overhaul of a landmark environmental law, which activists say will sideline communities of color whose neighborhoods are in the path of pipelines and other projects. (Texas Tribune)
• Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves taps a third-term Republican state senator to be the new director of the state’s Public Utilities Staff. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• Georgia Power’s Plant Scherer, the nation’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas, will see one of its four coal-fired units close by Jan. 1, 2022. (Saporta Report)
• Joe Biden’s $2 trillion clean energy plan, which commits to helping coal communities transition their economies, draws mixed reactions from industry groups and union officials in the Ohio Valley. (Ohio Valley Resource)

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OIL & GAS: Federal energy regulators give Delfin LNG a second one-year extension to complete a proposed floating liquified natural gas export facility off the coast of Louisiana. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY:
• A decade after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill was finally contained, Florida’s coastal bird habitat still faces threats from offshore drilling. (Audubon)
• An editorial board says it believes Tesla can thrive in Texas, and that a Tesla factory in Austin would be good for Texas workers. (Dallas Morning News)

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.