TRANSITION: Georgia officials court electric vehicle and solar manufacturers as they seek to supercharge the state’s economy on momentum from the federally backed, global clean energy transition. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Analysis of U.S. EPA data reveals oil refineries release billions of pounds of water pollution annually in ways that disproportionately affect people of color, especially on the Gulf Coast. (NPR)
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STORAGE:
• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announces a Japanese company will build a plant to produce a product that improves the performance of lithium-ion batteries. (Associated Press)
• Texas begins onboarding for a pilot program that allows state residents to make money by adding their solar-powered batteries and other devices to a “virtual power plant” in the state grid. (Canary Media)
• The company that recently announced an iron-air battery factory in West Virginia has secured partnerships with Georgia Power and utilities in Colorado and Minnesota. (Energy Storage News)
OIL & GAS:
• A Texas town fights to keep an oil dumpsite away from its groundwater, but despite twice rejecting the proposal, state regulators keep inviting the company to adjust and resubmit its application. (Inside Climate News)
• The head of West Virginia’s environmental agency pleads with state lawmakers to shore up funding for gas and oil well inspectors. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, subscription)
GRID:
• Duke Energy works with North Carolina lawmakers in support of legislation to protect power grid sites after three shooting incidents at electric substations in the past two months. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• Grid operator PJM tells West Virginia lawmakers it’s reviewing what caused an electric grid stability scare during a winter storm last month. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• A new analysis finds places with regional energy markets are less susceptible to running short of power than those with regulated monopoly structure like in the Carolinas and other Southeast states. (WFAE)
EMISSIONS:
• The U.S. EPA has issued nine violation notices to Texas oil and gas producers since it started using a helicopter mounted with an infrared detection camera. (NOLA.com)
• A Texas researcher receives $1 million to study a bacteria that could turn greenhouse gases into bioplastic or biofuel. (Denton Record-Chronicle)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A group that holds shares in Hyundai calls for better oversight amid allegations the automotive company used child labor in its Alabama supply chain. (Montgomery Advertiser)
• Virginia’s Republican-controlled House passes a bill to repeal the state’s vehicle emissions law, but observers expect it will be struck down by the Democratic-majority Senate. (Virginia Mercury)
GEOTHERMAL: Experts call for Texas to use its oil and gas drilling expertise to grow the state’s geothermal energy generation as a pathway to grid stability and emission reductions. (S&P Global)
UTILITIES: A Texas group receives $48 million in federal funding to help state residents pay energy bills. (KHOU)
POLITICS: Texas U.S. House members account for six of the 10 representatives who received the most money from the oil and gas industry. (E&E News)
AVIATION: An aircraft manufacturer breaks ground on a North Carolina factory to build a supersonic jet that uses carbon net-zero fuel. (WTVD)
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