PIPELINES: Experts say measures U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin sought to secure alongside Democrats’ climate bill to boost the long-delayed, over-budget Mountain Valley Pipeline won’t necessarily guarantee its completion. (Roanoke Times)

ALSO: Landowners along the Mountain Valley Pipeline continue their fight against the project despite Manchin’s deal. (Mountain State Spotlight)

TRANSITION: West Virginia and its long reliance on the fading coal industry will provide a testing ground for provisions of Democrats’ recently passed climate package that aim to create clean energy-related manufacturing jobs. (Washington Post) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Auto companies are pouring billions of dollars into electric vehicle and battery factories in Southeast states, changing the landscape of towns and the industry’s workforce, supply chain and logistics. (CNBC)
• North Carolina tobacco giant Reynolds American announces it will replace more than 1,800 gas-powered company vehicles with electric and hybrid models. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• A Virginia company with a long track record of supporting power grids positions itself to be a player in the buildout of electric vehicle charging stations across the country. (Roanoke Times)

SOLAR:
• Dominion Energy proposes building a 100 MW solar farm with battery storage at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. (Washington Post)
• A Virginia planning board will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation Tuesday on a proposed 90 MW solar farm. (Gazette-Virginian)

OIL & GAS:
• Louisiana officials announce a damaged component between two onshore pipelines has been repaired, allowing companies to restart operations. (Reuters)
• Louisiana utilities have long bet on natural gas as a low-cost fuel for electricity, which worked for years until the 2021 winter storm jacked prices up. (The Advocate)

CLIMATE: A new analysis predicts a growing “heat belt” stretching from the Gulf Coast to Chicago will put more Americans in counties that experience hazardous heat. (CBS News)

EMISSIONS: Alabama officials impose a $160,000 fine on an oil and gas production company for numerous air quality violations. (NorthEscambia.com)

POLITICS:
• Newly revealed records show Florida Power & Light was behind a nonprofit that funded an independent politician’s 2018 campaign which siphoned votes to ensure a Republican state senator won reelection. (Gainesville Sun)
• The president of the United Mine Workers of America defends U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia against coal industry attacks over his climate deal. (Business Insider)
• Mostly energy-related political action committees have provided more than a quarter of all campaign funds for the frontrunner in the race for an Oklahoma regulatory post. (Examiner-Enterprise)
• A federal court places the November election of two Georgia public service commissioners back on the ballot a week after a judge postponed them after finding state commissioners illegally diluted Black votes. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• San Antonio, Texas’ municipal utility should invest $75 million to keep residents cool amid rising temperatures instead of sending rebates to customers, writes a columnist. (San Antonio Report)
• Democrats’ newly passed climate spending package should significantly benefit Texas because of its already large and growing wind, solar and battery industries, writes a columnist. (Bloomberg)

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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.