OVERSIGHT: Five environmental groups sue to stop Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to withdraw the state from a regional carbon market, arguing that state lawmakers voted to join the compact, so it can’t be undone by executive action. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press)

ALSO: The founder of an Alabama environmental justice center who co-chairs a White House advisory council discusses her work. (AL.com, subscription)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A new Texas registration fee requires electric vehicle owners to pay when $400 they register a vehicle and $200 each time they renew their registration, which critics say is double what other vehicle owners pay for one of the cheapest gas tax rates in the U.S. (Texas Tribune, Business Insider)
• Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, an electric cooperative and the Tennessee Valley Authority fund a new $9.6 million automotive facility at an Alabama community college to train students as the automotive industry shifts to electric and autonomous vehicles. (Cullman Tribune)

OIL & GAS:
• A Texas natural gas company buys a gas-processing firm focused on the Permian Basin, growing its capacity by roughly 2 billion cubic feet per day. (Carlsbad Current Argus)
• Ship-tracking data shows an oil tanker suspected of carrying sanctioned crude oil from Iran offloaded its cargo to another tanker off the Texas coast, exacerbating global tensions. (Associated Press)

SOLAR: A Texas solar company steps in to assist a homeowner after he complains he’s still paying high electric bills after installing a broken solar system. (KVUE)

PIPELINES: Federal regulators raise concerns about potential corrosion and pipe integrity along the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which recently began construction again after years of inactivity. (Inside Climate News)

CARBON CAPTURE: A $603 million investment in Louisiana’s first major direct air capture project represents a significant step toward technology that would allow the Gulf Coast’s oil and gas industry to continue operating despite the state’s net-zero goals. (NOLA.com)

GRID:
• Texas’ grid manager issues a weather watch due to forecasts of high temperatures and power demand the rest of the week. (KXAN)
• Entergy plans a $110 million project to upgrade equipment and build two new substations to accommodate growing power demand on a Texas peninsula. (KBMT)

CLIMATE: Congressional Democrats press for an investigation of at least 41 inmates who have died of heart-related or undetermined causes in Texas prisons since a heat wave began this summer. (Texas Tribune)

UTILITIES:
• A Kentucky grassroots organization canvasses to alert state residents about utilities’ proposal to replace coal-fired power with two natural gas plants instead of more solar. (Kentucky Lantern)
• Louisiana regulators consider a directive to immediately prohibit the state’s electric utilities from using any components from China, Russia, North Korea or Iran. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report)

POLITICS: The race for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat could turn into a contest over who most tightly embraces fossil fuels as coal baron and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice bids to win the Republican nomination. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:
• Two climate activists question why Dominion Energy seems bent on building a 1,000 MW natural gas plant in Virginia given the state’s commitment to cutting emissions and the falling price of renewables. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• An editorial board recalls a heated debate over wind turbines that ultimately came to nothing as it applauds a Virginia county for taking proactive steps to consider rules around solar development. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

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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.