POLITICS: Republicans in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee embrace new battery plants as other members of the party go on the attack against wind, solar and electric vehicles, creating clean energy cognitive dissonance within the GOP. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• Squabbling Virginia Democrats and Republicans are unable to appoint two new members to the state’s regulatory board, leaving it without a quorum to issue rulings. (Virginia Mercury)
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott supports the reintroduction of a multibillion-dollar corporate tax break program, but says solar and wind projects shouldn’t be allowed to participate because of existing federal incentives. (WFAA)
• Republican Kentucky and Texas members who lead U.S. House panels request U.S. EPA documents and a staff briefing about its environmental justice grants. (E&E News)

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WIND: Federal officials find no connection between offshore wind development and a spike in whale deaths, despite a Fox News story that attempted to link a dead right whale to Dominion Energy’s offshore project in Virginia. (States Newsroom)

SOLAR:
• Louisville, Kentucky, relaunches a campaign with two solar companies that offers discounts to people who install solar panels on their roofs. (WLKY)
• A Virginia county planning commission recommends placing a 2,500-acre cap on solar facilities, which means pending applications for 97 MW and 80 MW projects could be the last approved. (Mecklenburg Sun)
• A renewables company begins construction on a 74 MW solar farm in North Carolina. (Salisbury Post)
• A Virginia town planning board schedules a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to establish setback, height, square footage, spacing and view requirements for solar projects. (Chatham Star-Tribune)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mississippi lawmakers pass a bill to block electric car makers from opening new brick-and-mortar dealerships unless they comply with the same laws that apply to traditional carmakers. (Associated Press)

CARBON CAPTURE: Environmentalists rally against a proposed Louisiana pipeline to move carbon dioxide from a “blue” hydrogen plant to be stored beneath a lake. (WVUE)

OIL & GAS: Texas residents say they’re relieved cleanup is finally beginning on a crude oil spill that damaged their properties, well water supply and livestock. (KPRC)

COAL:
• Alabama coal miners prepare to return to work after a long and so far fruitless strike against Warrior Met Coal. (WBHM)
• West Virginia lawmakers debate and ultimately defeat an amendment to add coal to legislation that would expedite permits for gas-fired power projects. (WV Metro News)

EFFICIENCY: The University of New Orleans signs a 25-year deal to essentially privatize campus energy infrastructure, build $27 million worth of new projects and slash its electricity, water and natural gas use. (NOLA.com)

UTILITIES:
• A Florida lawmaker introduces a bill to place municipal utilities under state oversight and revamp how they operate, charge customers and transfer money. (WCJB)
• A Virginia town utility official warns Dominion Energy is projecting a 15% rate increase as it shutters coal plants and builds wind and solar power projects in the state. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)

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CLIMATE: A panel discusses legal and fiscal difficulties in protecting and shoring up oceanfront houses in North Carolina threatened by rising seas and eroding beaches. (Coastal Review)

COMMENTARY:
• A Virginia editorial board feels relief as Dominion Energy moves to begin removing coal ash at four shuttered Virginia power plants. (Virginian-Pilot)
• A Florida lawmaker’s proposal to ban electric vehicles from hurricane evacuation routes is needlessly political and pointless considering that gas-powered vehicles also run out of fuel, writes an editor. (CleanTechnica)

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Mason Adams

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.