PIPELINES: The proposed congressional deal to raise the U.S. debt limit includes a provision to approve all remaining permits for the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline, pleasing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin but prompting outrage among climate activists and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine. (Politico, Washington Post)

ALSO: Anti-pipeline activists gear up for another push against the Mountain Valley Pipeline now that the White House has essentially endorsed it. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR: Georgia Power announces its new unit at nuclear Plant Vogtle reached 100% of its expected output of 1,100 MW and is expected to be put into full service in June. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Augusta Chronicle)

SOLAR: A Virginia sheepherder partners with Dominion Energy and other companies to use sheep to graze vegetation around solar farms. (WDBJ)

GRID:
• Texas lawmakers approve bills to provide $7.2 billion in low-interest loans for new construction of natural gas plants and to build $1.8 billion in backup power generation infrastructure, all in an effort to strengthen the state power grid. (KCEN)
• Recent rain cools the weather in San Antonio, Texas, enough that officials at the municipal power utility feel more confident about power demand as summer arrives. (San Antonio Express-News)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Texas lawmakers approve a bill to relaunch a state incentive program granting companies discounts on school property taxes, although the new version is smaller and doesn’t include renewable energy projects. (Houston Chronicle)
• Texas’ open business policies led to America’s greatest concentration of wind, solar and battery storage projects, but state lawmakers have turned against renewables with a string of legislation to add new regulations and exclude them from a state tax break. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
• Tennessee Tech University researchers receive a $1 million grant to study making new clean energy technology materials from coal-derived graphene and copper. (WKRN)

FINANCE: An investigation finds more than half of the 13 companies blacklisted by Oklahoma for violating a law prohibiting oil and gas boycotts don’t actually meet the law’s criteria because they’re not publicly traded. (The Frontier)

COAL: Dominion Energy plans to deactivate two remaining coal units at a Virginia power plant this week. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla places its third North Carolina “supercharge” station with 12 electric vehicle chargers. (WWAY)

 OIL & GAS:
• A company moves to secure federal permits for its proposed liquefied natural gas export facility in Jacksonville, Florida. (Jacksonville Daily Record)
• West Virginia residents express concern about the possible health impacts of living near natural gas wells. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

BIOMASS: Mississippi regulators notify a wood pellet company for violating emission limits and becoming a “major” source of hazardous air pollutants since 2021. (Guardian)

UTILITIES:
• Appalachian Power prepares for a new regulatory scheme in Virginia following passage of legislation that revamps state oversight of power utilities. (Virginia Mercury)
• West Virginia county governments protest Appalachian Power’s proposed $641 million rate hike that state officials blame on the utility’s bad decision-making. (WV Metro News)

CLIMATE: Texas farmers experiment with cover cropping to adapt to a changing climate. (Guardian)

COMMENTARY:
• A journalist whose ancestor purchased mineral rights in West Virginia explores what that means amid the state’s natural gas boom. (Politico)
• The side deal to include completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in an agreement to lift the federal debt ceiling is part of a case study in congressional dysfunction, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)

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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.