PIPELINES: A section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia ruptures during hydrostatic testing with water, damaging a section of pipe and leaking into a nearby stream just weeks before its in-service date. (Roanoke Times, Charleston Gazette-Mail, WV Metro News)

ALSO: 

SOLAR: Hyundai plans to buy power for its Georgia factory from a Texas solar farm, then resell it for renewable energy credits, in large part because Georgia Power only sources 7% of its energy from renewables. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

STORAGE: Georgia officials fine a battery factory $33,000 after it improperly shipped discarded lithium-ion cells that started a fire and destroyed a recycling facility. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

OIL & GAS: 

COAL: The debate over a new Kentucky law that makes it harder and more expensive to close coal-fired power plants revealed signs that Republicans are beginning to split over support for the industry. (Sierra)

HYDROGEN: 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The United Auto Workers informs a Tennessee Volkswagen plant where workers recently voted to unionize that it must notify the union before making any employment changes such as layoffs or shift scheduling. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

UTILITIES: 

  • NextEra Energy’s CEO says the booming data center sector is driving demand for renewables — not just natural gas. (South Florida Business Journal, subscription; CNBC)
  • The Southern Company announces a 28% increase in profits just days after it completes the long overdue, vastly over-budget expansion of nuclear Plant Vogtle. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

CLIMATE: 

POLITICS: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia joins Republicans in criticizing the Biden administration’s energy policies during a hearing with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY: Recent flooding problems faced by Houston offer a case study for cities trying to manage risk around climate change, writes a professor. (The Conversation)

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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.