GRID: The late arrival of Hurricane Nicole this month following Hurricane Ian tested Florida’s changing grid as a model for other coastal communities as climate change makes hurricanes bigger and stronger. (E&E News)
STORAGE: A Norwegian company announces it will build a $2.6 billion electric battery factory in Georgia. (Associated Press)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA issues 11 Clean Air Act and state environmental law-based violations against a large Louisiana iron plant as it investigates state regulators over allegations they discriminate against Black residents already facing poor air quality. (The Advocate)
SOLAR:
• Arkansas regulators approve a 250 MW Entergy solar plant on roughly 2,100 acres. (news release)
• A Virginia county considers permitting a 71 MW solar farm and substation. (Smithfield Times)
• A Virginia county board delays a vote on a 160-acre solar farm until a newly elected member can be seated. (Roanoke Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A North Carolina vehicle-sharing partnership will provide access to electric vehicles for residents and staff at affordable housing communities in Charlotte. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• A North Carolina city proposes purchasing eight hybrids and cutting back its planned purchase of dozens of gas-powered pickups after being criticized for buying traditional SUVs for its police department. (Winston-Salem Journal)
MINING: North Carolina residents push back against a large open-pit lithium mine proposed near Charlotte, illustrating the trade-offs needed to expand the electric vehicle industry. (WFAE)
HYDROGEN: The Tennessee Valley Authority partners with four utilities and a private company to seek federal funding for a proposed Southeast hydrogen hub. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
OVERSIGHT: A commission concludes Texas’ environmental regulatory agency is too “reluctant” to regulate industry and recommends state lawmakers require it to focus enforcement on repeat violators and big offenders. (Texas Tribune)
UTILITIES: Memphis’ public utility company delays a vote to enter a “never-ending” contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority after environmental groups and community activists speak out against the decision. (Tennessee Lookout)
COAL: U.S. regulators project a quarter of all coal-fired capacity will be retired by 2029, with Texas and Tennessee among four states home to 42% of retirements. (Reuters)
CLIMATE: Texas’ water capacity ticks up slightly but is down 15.5% from a year ago, and some reservoirs have dwindled to puddles, demonstrating the effects of a regional drought. (KXAN)
POLLUTION:
• Memphis, Tennessee, residents press state and federal officials to carefully review a permit that allows storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste by a longtime pesticide maker. (Tennessee Lookout)
• A company that specializes in water quality is named as the source of a “forever chemical” that contaminated a Virginia city’s drinking water supply. (Roanoke Times)
COMMENTARY:
• The federal government should follow West Virginia’s lead in streamlining regulations to allow more nuclear power development, writes a policy manager for a conservative Alaska think tank. (Roanoke Times)
• North Carolina should restrict the size of electric vehicles made by a company receiving $1.2 billion in state incentives to build a factory, writes a columnist at a college newspaper. (Daily Tar Heel)
• The head of a retail energy trade group calls for Virginia to loosen the grip of Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to open up the state’s energy market. (Virginian-Pilot, subscription)
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