COAL: Alabama Power plans to close a 109-year-old coal-fired power plant in January. (WVTM)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• An auto parts supplier announces plans to build a factory in Georgia to support Hyundai’s planned electric vehicle factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• A Virginia warehousing and distribution company runs a battery-electric truck on a 10-mile loop for nearly 20 hours per day. (Cardinal News)
SOLAR:
• A 175 MW solar farm begins operating in Virginia. (WRIC)
• Boeing dismantles the large rooftop solar farm at its South Carolina factory but says it will continue to operate the factory entirely from renewables. (Post and Courier, subscription)
• A Virginia planning commission advances a permit for a proposed solar farm on 1,750 acres. (Farmville Herald)
• A Virginia school board approves a pilot rooftop solar power purchase contract for a county high school that’s expected to be replicated at six more schools. (Patch)
OVERSIGHT: Elections for two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission have been delayed over a Voting Rights Act lawsuit, but regulators press forward with considering a rate hike for Georgia Power. (Savannah Morning News, Macon Telegraph)
CLIMATE: Companies named in a recent report for obstructing climate policy have contributed to candidates in West Virginia’s legislative elections. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
UTILITIES:
• New Orleans’ outages during good weather, rising bills and political bullying by Entergy lead to discussion about whether to buy out its contract and launch a public power utility instead. (Gambit)
• Dominion Energy launches a “top-to-bottom” review as officials look to spur its stock out of its recent lackluster performance. (Utility Dive)
• Georgia will use $44.5 million in pandemic relief money to help state residents pay overdue utility fees. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)
• Duke Energy names an internal vice president as its next state president for North Carolina. (Winston-Salem Journal)
OIL & GAS:
• A company announces plans to build a 300 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Texas and capture its carbon to be stored in existing Permian Basin infrastructure. (Houston Chronicle)
• Oil and gas royalties fuel the University of Texas’ coffers, putting it close to overtaking Harvard University as the U.S. school with the largest endowment. (NPR)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to implode three cooling towers at a Kentucky gas-fired power plant this week. (WEHT)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: A Bitcoin mining facility in Georgia uses “immersion mining” to absorb heat in a flowing synthetic oil and buys renewable power to ensure better relations with its neighbors. (Axios)
TRANSITION:
• The Biden administration funds research in West Virginia and elsewhere to develop ways to extract crucial minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries from coal waste. (S&P Global)
• Virginia’s two U.S. senators announce $1 million for a study of how to improve energy resiliency in a coal county. (Cardinal News)POLITICS:
• A climate activist running for a Texas city council as part of a 4-person progressive campaign is part of a new wave of climate-driven candidates in local elections. (Grist)
• Critics say Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ promises to prioritize environmental issues have fallen by the wayside as he’s ignored experts and even signed legislation in direct opposition to his prior commitments. (Mother Jones)
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