ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric vehicle and battery plants in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas make up a significant chunk of a new “battery belt” extending to the Midwest and fueled by federal funding and incentives. (Canary Media)
ALSO:
• South Carolina officials break ground on an $810 million electric vehicle battery plant, which they hope will spur more auto and battery production. (SC Now)
• Kentucky freezes $21 million in incentives for an electric vehicle battery plant after federal officials abruptly reject a $200 million loan for the project amid Republican concerns about its ties to China. (Associated Press)
• Amazon rolls out Rivian electric delivery vehicles in Florida. (Spectrum News)
• An electric vehicle company announces it’s adding seven Southeast retail locations in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. (WSOC)
• A Korean company that makes heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems announces it will build a Georgia factory near Hyundai’s huge EV plant. (WSB)
• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs a law to ensure gas stations and other businesses that invest in electric vehicle chargers won’t be unfairly disadvantaged compared to utilities. (Journal Record)
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EMISSIONS:
• A Virginia board votes 4-3 to withdraw from a regional carbon market, though debates continue about whether the governor can continue the process without approval from state lawmakers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Mercury)
• A Louisiana ammonia plant draws scrutiny as the state’s largest source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions. (Columbia Missourian)
WIND: Even as the federal government moves forward with plans to open federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico to offshore wind, Louisiana officials negotiate with Norwegian and Japanese companies for at least three wind energy projects in state-managed nearshore waters. (NOLA.com)
SOLAR:
• Florida leads the nation as the U.S. sees a 47% increase in solar installations for the first quarter of 2023, which experts credit to more available solar panel supplies. (Reuters)
• Florida Power & Light partners with a sheep herder on a pilot project to graze vegetation around a solar farm. (Pensacola News Journal)
• A Virginia county board recommends a 2,325-acre cap on total solar facilities, although some residents claim such a cap is unconstitutional. (Mecklenburg Sun)
GRID: A Virginia county defers a vote on a proposed campus for nine data centers and two 300 MW electrical substations. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
HYDROGEN:
• A California fuel company signs a letter of intent to explore using a soon-to-close West Virginia coal plant to make hydrogen. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
• A company that makes plastic into precursors for hydrogen and other fuels announces it will build a West Virginia factory. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
NUCLEAR: Georgia Power’s ongoing expansion of nuclear Plant Vogtle drives debate over whether nuclear power can provide affordable, carbon-free power or is an expensive boondoggle. (WABE/Grist)
OVERSIGHT:
• A former employee of West Virginia’s environmental agency pleads guilty to taking $94,197 in federal abandoned mine land remediation funds. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appoints a chemical engineer to temporarily lead a state board that regulates electric and other utilities. (CNHI)
OIL & GAS: Oklahoma farmers and officials work through the aftermath of hundreds of gallons of oil spilling into a creek and nearby river. (Oklahoman)
COMMENTARY:
• The White House’s endorsement of the Mountain Valley Pipeline undermined Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who like President Biden is up for re-election in 2024, writes a columnist. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The head of the United Mine Workers of America defends the union’s endorsement of Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for reelection. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
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