TRANSITION: Residents of a Louisiana port town that maintains one-sixth of the nation’s oil supply consider their role in climate change and reimagine the port’s future as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. (WWNO)

ALSO:
• A coalition of Louisiana universities, industry leaders, state agencies and regional economic development groups seeks $160 million in grant funding to decarbonize the state’s industrial corridor. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report)
• Some policy experts say Louisiana is well-positioned to take advantage of clean energy provisions in Democrats’ climate spending bill that could jumpstart the green transition in its petrochemical industry. (Louisiana Illuminator)

COAL: Coal miners and advocates push for passage of Democrats’ climate spending plan because it fixes funding for a federal trust fund that pays to treat miners suffering from black lung. (Virginia Mercury)

SOLAR:
• An energy company and housing nonprofit announce a program to offer shared solar to residents of more than 70 affordable apartment communities in Virginia. (Virginia Mercury)
• A Florida solar manufacturer uses precision lasers, artificial intelligence and other advanced manufacturing techniques to produce 100 solar panels an hour. (Jacksonville Daily Record)
• A Virginia town board discusses site conditions for a proposed 5 MW solar facility as it works on changes to its comprehensive plan to guide future solar development. (Gazette-Virginian, News & Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicle maker Rivian announces higher second-quarter revenues than expected, but says investors also should expect wider loss and lower capital expenditures than previously forecast. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNBC)
• Alabama and Arkansas are among the states that have adopted an annual fee for electric vehicle owners, which a new report warns could harm the market. (Utility Dive)

GRID: A little-known Texas committee consisting largely of oil and energy executives approves recommendations that lawmakers may use next year when considering how to fix the state grid. (Dallas Morning News)

OIL & GAS:
• A bill to prohibit local governments from restricting gas use in buildings ran aground in Virginia’s divided state legislature earlier this year, suggesting a national push to adopt gas ban preemption bills may have plateaued. (S&P Global)
• A study finds traces of oil spilled in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion remained along the Gulf Coast a decade later. (The Hill) 

UTILITIES: Entergy billed at least four Louisiana families at their usual rate after Hurricane Ida even though power wasn’t available — a problem that seems to stem from estimated usage practices. (The Advocate)

NUCLEAR:  Duke Energy, Southern Co., NextEra and the Tennessee Valley Authority are among utilities that have named nuclear power as a centerpiece in their plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. (Power)

EMISSIONS: A study finds methane emissions from shallow water oil and gas platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico are significantly higher than drilling operations on land. (Reuters)

CLIMATE: North Carolina researchers find that work sidelined by rising temperatures could cost the U.S. up to $100 billion a year in lost productivity. (WRAL)

COMMENTARY:
• Houston, Texas — the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world — “makes out like a bandit” in Democrats’ congressional climate spending package, writes an editorial board. (Houston Chronicle)
• North Carolina regulators must allow Duke Energy to pursue nuclear power development if state ratepayers are to avoid cost increases as the state decarbonizes, writes a newspaper publisher and CEO of a conservative think tank. (Carolina Journal)

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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.