Southeast Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition was compiled by Mason Adams.

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CARBON CAPTURE: A Louisiana power company says it will invest $900 million in a carbon sequestration facility to capture 95% of the emissions from a nearby coal-fired power plant it operates. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser)

COAL ASH: Residents of a Virginia county raise concerns about contamination, traffic and the potential for earthquakes as Dominion Energy pursues a plan to build a new coal ash landfill near a power plant. (Inside NoVa)

OIL & GAS:
• Shell pioneers a smaller, less-energy intensive offshore oil platform designed to reduce costs and ensure a profit ​​no matter oil’s price. (Houston Chronicle)
• An abandoned Texas well created an inland salt water body that has recently begun venting dangerous hydrogen sulfide, and becomes an issue in the race for a state regulatory post. (Texas Monthly)

WIND: State officials, businesses and environmental groups agree North Carolina has massive potential for offshore wind energy development, but critics warn the state is not moving fast enough to secure its benefits. (WUNC)

SOLAR:
• Duke Energy begins operations at a 22.6 MW solar farm in North Carolina. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• Entergy breaks ground on a 449 kW solar farm for an Arkansas school district. (Arkansas Business)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces the electric vehicle company will begin making the long-delayed Cybertruck at its Texas plant next year. (Houston Chronicle)
• A Georgia county commission discusses building electric vehicle charging stations and electrifying government vehicles. (Henry Herald)

GRID: Federal officials will work with New Orleans to help build a more resilient electrical grid and decentralized electricity generation with rooftop solar, storage and self-sustaining microgrids. (WWNO)

POLITICS: A debate over a Louisiana property tax exemption program largely pits local governments against the state’s petrochemical industry. (WWNO)

UTILITIES: Gainesville, Florida, ranks near the top of the list for highest electric rates in the state. (Gainesville Sun)

PIPELINES: Federal regulators’ approval of a request by the Mountain Valley Pipeline brings the long-delayed project a step closer to completion, and is interpreted by some analysts as an olive branch to pivotal U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph; Bloomberg Law, subscription) 

RENEWABLES: A Virginia energy storage company acquires an artificial intelligence and machine learning company that helps clients track renewable energy assets’ performance and value. (Virginia Business)

CLIMATE:
• Climate change and a related sea level rise is affecting archaeological sites in Florida. (WLRN)
• At a public hearing, speakers criticize a Virginia city for writing a budget proposal that continues to invest in gas-powered vehicles, facilities, infrastructure and equipment. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COMMENTARY: A plan to redevelop a former West Virginia coal mine into a solar farm, industrial park and off-road vehicle hub could inspire redevelopment at mines throughout the state, writes an editorial board. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

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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.