ELECTRIC VEHICLES: South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster argues there’s a strong market for electric vehicles after former President Trump criticized “the idea of all-electric” vehicles at a Republican gathering in the state over the weekend. (The State)
ALSO:
• South Carolina residents, environmental groups and state agencies raise concerns about SCOUT Motors’ construction of an electric vehicle factory. (WLTX)
• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tours the construction site for a pair of factories that will make electric vehicle batteries for Ford and Lincoln vehicles. (WKYU)
CLIMATE:
• Louisiana kicks off construction of a massive $2.9 billion project to divert a portion of the Mississippi River to rebuild up to 21 square miles of land and wetlands. (NOLA.com, Associated Press)
• Members of a Virginia city council disagree on the timeline for folding a climate action plan into the city’s master plan. (Roanoke Rambler)
OIL & GAS:
• A study finds the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to build new natural gas-fired power plants will undercut its pre-2015 carbon reductions and prevent it from attaining its goal of going carbon-free by 2050. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Virginia environmentalists organize against Dominion Energy’s plan to build a new natural gas-fired plant. (WRIC)
• An Oklahoma river dam authority will replace its last coal-fired power unit with a 420 MW natural gas-fired combustion turbine. (The Frontier)
SOLAR:
• A hazardous waste treatment plant in Arkansas is building a 5 MW solar farm to assist its net zero goal. (Arkadelphian)
• Advocates launch a “Solarize” program in Oklahoma to help residents purchase solar installations at a reduced price. (KWTV)
WIND: Federal officials decide to exclude North Carolina from consideration for a new round of areas for offshore wind because of the U.S. Navy’s concerns about a 700-square-mile area where pilots train on aircraft carriers. (WRAL)
GRID:
• A lingering heat wave pushes Texas to set a record for power demand for the second time this week and ninth time this summer. (Reuters)
• The new general manager of Austin, Texas’ municipal utility says he has “80 things” on his to-do list after a February storm left nearly a third of its customers without power. (KXAN)
PIPELINES: A federal court finds the Mountain Valley Pipeline is entitled to easements on Virginia land. (Bloomberg)
HYDROGEN: West Virginia officials cancel a meeting where they were set to consider a forgivable $62.5 million loan for a planned hydrogen facility with a biomass power plant and carbon capture. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
TRANSITION: Virginia’s energy department seeks public input on how to spend $22.7 million in federal funds it will annually receive for projects on abandoned mine land. (Cardinal News)
EMISSIONS: Texas’ grid operator, PJM Interconnection and other grid operators and state agencies push back while environmentalists endorse the U.S. EPA’s proposed power plant emissions rules. (Tampa Free Press, Georgia Recorder)
POLITICS: A partisan standoff over the Virginia budget is holding up funding for a commission to discuss complex utility regulation proposals. (Virginia Mercury)
COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board dismisses recent delays at some of Louisiana’s proposed liquefied natural gas export facilities and argues that international demand for gas isn’t going away. (NOLA.com)
• Texas should follow Louisiana’s example and develop carbon capture technology to secure its energy industry, writes the Gulf Coast director of a consumer advocacy group. (Beaumont Enterprise)
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