SOLAR: Florida officials report the state saw 44% more residential solar systems installed in 2021 than the year before. (WFLA)

ALSO:
• A Virginia high school installs more than 2,000 solar panels that will provide about 35% of its electricity needs. (WRIC)
• The University of South Florida St. Petersburg will use a Duke Energy community solar program to cover 70% of its energy demand. (St. Pete Catalyst)

OIL & GAS:
• A burst interstate pipeline leaks more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil in a small Tennessee town, while an Oklahoma city closes a park after nearly 250,000 gallons of a petroleum-based drilling fluid spill from a nearby plant. (WPLN, KSWO)
• The rising cost of natural gas leads many Texans to see a 50% or greater increase in their power bills, even as the war in Ukraine has resulted in the state exporting more natural gas than ever. (Texas Tribune)

COAL:
• Georgia Power announces it will excavate coal ash from a pond and landfill at a power plant to be turned into concrete for bridges, roads, and buildings. (Daily Energy Insider)
• Experts say a U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate power plant emissions likely won’t affect Georgia Power’s plans to close its coal-fired plants by next decade. (The Current)

TRANSITION:
• Appalachian researchers worry non-binding wording in last year’s federal infrastructure bill might leave behind displaced coal workers in the rush to spend $11.3 billion in mine cleanup money. (E&E News)
• Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities seek proposals for renewable power projects as they aim to retire around a dozen aging and outdated coal and natural gas generating units over the next 15 years. (WKYU)
• University professors aim to help Louisiana build on its oil and gas expertise to become a decarbonization leader instead of a fossil fuel sanctuary. (Lafayette Daily Advertiser)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Texas city studies the prospect of making its 880-vehicle fleet electric over the next decade, but cost, battery recalls and availability pose potential obstacles. (KWTX)
• A logistics company collects data to shift its Southeast fleet to electric vehicles. (Tank Transport Trader)
• Kentucky considers how best to use $69 million in federal funding to build electric vehicle chargers and other infrastructure. (WDKY)

UTILITIES: Entergy files a rate proposal with Texas regulators to invest $2.5 billion for service and infrastructure improvements that includes the addition of a natural gas and hydrogen-fueled power plant. (Beaumont Enterprise)

TRANSPORTATION: A Southwest Virginia underground mining equipment maker says it might move unless state officials move forward with building a highway connecting coal-producing regions with other expressways. (Cardinal News)

BIOFUELS: Three biomass or renewable diesel developments take shape in Louisiana after the state approved a climate action plan and companies aim to reduce their exposure to climate-related risks. (Engineering News-Record)

COMMENTARY: A law professor and energy expert discusses how the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to limit the EPA will more broadly affect federal regulators. (ProPublica)

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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.