EMISSIONS: Duke Energy identifies a South Carolina gas leak using satellites, illustrating the methane emissions problem experts say plagues the oil and gas industry as it rushes to ramp up production. (Bloomberg)

WIND:
• An agency under Virginia’s attorney general presses Dominion Energy to explain why so many records about the cost of its planned offshore wind farm are confidential. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Louisiana lawmakers ask state regulators to study the best way to develop an offshore wind energy pilot project in the Gulf of Mexico by 2026. (Louisiana Illuminator)

SOLAR:
• A North Carolina town increases the rate its electric utility will pay for surplus power from rooftop solar owners to make solar more financially attractive for homeowners. (Mountaineer)
• Virginia and other eastern states explore agrivoltaic projects that combine solar power generation and livestock grazing. (Bay Journal)
• A municipal Texas utility warns customers of a $30 monthly solar surcharge as it launches a co-op program for city residents to install battery storage and buy solar power. (KTSM)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Georgia and Rivian Automotive sign a deal in which state and local governments will pay $1.5 billion in incentives for the electric vehicle maker to build a $5 billion factory near Atlanta. (Associated Press)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority works with Tennessee energy officials to prepare for electrification of the transportation system as electric vehicle ownership grows. (Utility Dive)
• Louisiana lawmakers advance a bill to impose an annual state road usage fee for drivers who own electric or hybrid vehicles. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser)

GRID: Texas’ grid manager braces for spiking temperatures this weekend and resulting power demand that could produce blackout conditions. (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES:
• A pipeline company plans to add three compressor stations to increase its capacity on a line that runs from the Permian Basin to south Texas. (S&P Global)
• A Virginia gas company will begin using aerial drones to inspect its pipeline infrastructure. (news release)

OIL & GAS: Federal regulators reject a pipeline company’s proposal to offer what it touts as responsibly sourced natural gas, largely because regulators don’t want to develop criteria for determining what’s responsibly sourced. (S&P Global)

COAL: West Virginia’s coal industry employed fewer workers in 2021 than any year since 1890, even as it saw increased production. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

CLIMATE: Texas braces for more frequent and more destructive wildfires stemming from climate change and population growth. (Texas Observer)

BIOGAS:
• A Texas waste management agency partners with an energy company to build a renewable natural gas plant on a landfill. (KBTX)
• A U.S. waste management agency expects renewable gas plants in Arkansas and Oklahoma to begin operations next year as it plans to invest $825 million in expanding its gas infrastructure. (Biomass Magazine)

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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.