SOLAR: Amazon announces it will build a 200 MW and a 50 MW solar farms in Virginia, bringing the total number of solar facilities the company has announced for the state to 19. (Cardinal News)

ALSO:
• A Tennessee county passes a ban on commercial renewable-energy facilities over concern about impacts from large solar farms. (Herald Chronicle)
• A Tennessee city council approves a deal to install a 20.5 kW solar array on its recreation center. (WBIR)
• An Oklahoma craft beverage business installs a 61 kW solar array that it’s using to market beer “brewed by the sun.” (Journal Record)

OIL & GAS: Experts warn a deal to boost exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe will require years to build export terminals on the Gulf Coast, which could further lock in the use of fossil fuels. (Yale Environment 360)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• North Carolina’s transportation agency says drivers of the state’s 21,000 registered electric vehicles pay about $50 less per year than gas vehicle owners when it comes to total taxes and fees for their cars. (WCNC)
• The projected cost of a Florida transportation hub rises as developers incorporate electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other elements. (Miami Today)
• A Virginia mass transit system hears passenger requests for electric buses and reduction of route times, but right now is focused on filling a driver shortage. (Charlottesville Tomorrow)

EMISSIONS:
• A proposed $4.5 billion carbon capture and hydrogen plant in Louisiana that’s part of a wave of projects designed to shore up the oil and gas industry fuels apprehension from activists concerned about air quality. (Associated Press)
• A new report on ozone pollution levels gives a failing grade to seven of Texas’ 10 largest counties. (KXAN)
• Virginia misses a deadline and becomes one of 34 states that did not submit a regional plan for cleaning up the air in their national parks. (WVTF)

CLIMATE: Virginia faith leaders and elected leaders call on the U.S. Senate to approve $550 billion in climate spending to safeguard churches and faith communities against coastal flooding. (Virginian-Pilot)

CYBERSECURITY: A White House official visiting Texas urges public-private collaboration to build a “cybersecurity foundation” to protect solar energy from online attacks. (San Antonio Express-News)

UTILITIES: Appalachian Power asks West Virginia regulators for a nearly $300 million rate increase to cover the rising cost of coal and natural gas. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

DECARBONIZATION: A solar tracker manufacturer launches a new production line at a Texas steel mill in an effort to use low-emissions steel. (S&P Global)

COMMENTARY:
• Virginia legislation backed by natural gas companies reveals an industry looking to find new ways to reach customers as it fends off electrification and renewables, writes a climate columnist. (Virginia Mercury)
• An Alabama coal miner on strike testifies to a U.S. Senate committee to call for reform of the private equity industry to give employees higher priority in bankruptcies. (Facing South)

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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.