SOLAR: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cites inflation as he vetoes a utility-backed bill that would have stripped solar power subsidies for residential customers and allowed electric utilities to impose steep fees on solar panel owners. (Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat)
ALSO: Virginia ranked fourth in the country for solar installations in 2021, and for the first time generated more power from solar than coal. (WVTF)
WIND:
• A North Carolina authority announces a coastal island will host a proposed offshore wind manufacturing terminal. (Wilmington Star-News)
• Wind energy booms in Oklahoma and Texas — deep-red Republican states that once were dominated by oil and gas. (CNN)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. Department of Energy allows additional exports of liquefied natural gas from planned terminals in Texas and Louisiana. (Washington Post)
• The Gulf Coast sees its third announced refinery closure in two years amid an industry-wide decline in refining capacity. (Fox Business)
• A West Virginia natural gas industry leader complains that the unfinished Mountain Valley Pipeline is hampering the Appalachian region’s ability to compete against other U.S. basins. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Virginia Natural Gas moves to upgrade and replace 400 miles of older pipes, incorporating technology to predict excavation damage and methane leaks. (Daily Energy Insider)
PIPELINES: Federal officials suspend a permit for a proposed Kentucky gas pipeline while they re-evaluate its potential effects on endangered bats. (WDRB)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Kentucky prepares for a Japanese company to begin construction of a battery plant for electric vehicles this summer. (Spectrum News)
• Four South Carolina colleges aim to develop a workforce that can build and service electric vehicles and develop cybersecurity to protect them. (news release)
NUCLEAR: The trial of the last of four executives charged with fraud in the high-profile failure of a South Carolina nuclear project could be delayed as prosecutors seek to disqualify his lawyer. (Post and Courier)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy saw a 20% jump in installed wind and solar power in 2021, with increases in North Carolina and Florida leading the way. (Villages-News)
COAL: Coal industry representatives testify rail service issues have delayed coal shipments, shrinking stockpiles before summer’s electricity peak. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
EMISSIONS: Residents of a predominantly Black, low-income community in a Florida industrial corridor seek the source of an odor that’s troubled them for decades. (Tampa Bay Times)
POLITICS: Louisiana’s oil and gas industry pushes a state lawmaker to withdraw his effort to enshrine local control over a generous corporate tax incentive in the state constitution. (The Advocate)
EFFICIENCY: Chattanooga, Tennessee’s municipal utility is named as the most efficient local power company in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s seven-state region. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: A cryptocurrency mining company announces plans to build its own 1.7 GW electrical substation in Texas to avoid compromising the power grid. (CryptoPotato)
BIOGAS: Duke Energy announces two North Carolina projects to convert landfill emissions into renewable natural gas. (news release)
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