PIPELINES: A federal court halts construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in a national forest while it considers arguments that Congress violated the separation of powers doctrine when it included a provision to force completion of the project in the debt deal. (Roanoke Times)

CLIMATE:
• Ocean waters in Florida hit record temperatures in the mid-90s, threatening coral reefs and preventing beachgoers from cooling off. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Meteorologists say the South will experience more extreme heat this week, with highs up to 112 degrees in Texas and a heat index up to 110 degrees in Florida. (NPR)

SOLAR:
• A Virginia solar company hires its third CEO in a year as it tries to quash local rumors that it’s going out of business. (Daily Progress)
• A Virginia county board approves a 3 MW solar project that will sell power to Dominion Energy. (News Virginian)
• Louisville, Kentucky, extends sign-ups for its discounted solar program until the end of July. (Louisville Public Media)
• More than 20 teams of high school students prepare for a solar car challenge that entails an eight-day, 1,400 mile journey from Fort Worth, Texas, to California. (Dallas Innovates)

EMISSIONS:
• Black residents in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” push the U.S. EPA for more stringent rules for facilities emitting hazardous chemicals after the agency drops its investigation into complaints the state failed to protect them from years of toxic air emissions. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• Georgia and metro Atlanta use federal funding to develop climate plans, with the state version focusing largely on vehicle emissions as it pursues electric vehicle-related economic development. (WABE)

WIND:
• Lubbock, Texas, sues an energy company for more than $19 million in a dispute over power from a wind farm. (KLBK)
• Amazon partners with an energy company to build a 41-turbine, 184.5 MW wind farm in Mississippi. (Magnolia Tribune)

NUCLEAR: At an event marking the 50th anniversary of a Dominion Energy-owned nuclear power plant, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says the state is making progress on plans to develop a small modular nuclear reactor. (Smithfield Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COAL: A coal company plans to begin hiring and training hundreds of miners ahead of the planned opening of a new mine in Kentucky in 2025. (Courier & Press)

OIL & GAS: North Carolina regulators fine the Colonial Pipeline for discharging a toxic gasoline additive at levels 312% above its permit limit, marking its third violation in 18 months. (NC Newsline)

CLEAN ENERGY: Coal-reliant West Virginia added zero renewable energy projects in 2022, joining only Wyoming and North Dakota in its failure to do so. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: West Virginia’s attorney general leads an effort with Kentucky to challenge a proposed U.S. EPA rule to restrict tailpipe emissions and boost electric vehicle sales. (Parsons Advocate)

POLITICS: Dominion Energy poured $7 million and the anti-Dominion Clean Virginia Fund put $5.2 million into Virginia’s state legislative primaries last month, sparking calls for campaign finance reform. (Virginia Mercury)

COMMENTARY:
• The Texas state power grid has held up through demand that’s well exceeded the 2021 winter storm through the rapid additions of solar, wind and battery storage in the last two years, writes a climate policy expert. (Forbes)
• Tampa, Florida, is embarking on an ambitious climate plan to reduce emissions, require climate-ready infrastructure in new capital projects, and assist residents with energy bills and weatherization, writes its mayor. (Invading Sea)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

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.