NUCLEAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority gains state and federal backing for its plans to build up to four small modular reactors in Tennessee over the next decade. (Chattanooga Times Free Press, Knoxville News Sentinel)
POLITICS:
• Hundreds of Virginians file comments critical of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s push to remove the state from a regional carbon market that generates millions for flood reduction and energy efficiency programs. (WRIC)
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Republican Party received more than $9 million in utility-related donations as state regulators allowed companies to stop sharing information about power shutoffs for struggling residents. (The Lever)
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SOLAR:
• A 3.2 MW solar facility on a Virginia farm is a model for a county’s solar ambitions, boosting the farmer’s finances while still leaving much land for agricultural production, local officials say. (Northern Virginia Daily)
• A Virginia county considers amending its solar ordinance to restrict projects near a town boundary amid concerns from residents. (Gazette-Virginian)
• A Florida city pursues an agreement with a solar company to shift 80% of its energy use to renewables by the end of 2024. (Independent Florida Alligator)
• West Virginia officials break ground on a first-of-its-kind solar energy microgrid to power a titanium melt facility. (WV News)
WIND: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tries to meet an increasingly unlikely goal for the state to generate 2.4 GW from offshore wind by 2030. (WRAL)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Georgia lawmakers work to formalize how electric vehicle owners are charged at charging stations as part of a larger effort to gear up for the EV transition. (Capitol Beat News Service)
• Tennessee electric vehicle advocates hope federal funding to build a charger network will accelerate electrification. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Florida lawmakers prepare transportation bills for the upcoming legislative session, including proposals related to electric vehicles. (Florida Politics)
BIOGAS: Virginia regulators approve a facility to convert gas from a wastewater treatment facility to natural gas, the first biogas project since lawmakers passed a related law last year. (Virginia Mercury)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA warns Louisiana it’s violating clean air laws by allowing plants to release surges of toxic air pollutants during plant startups, shutdowns and weather-related malfunctions. (NOLA.com)
UTILITIES:
• The head of Entergy New Orleans reflects on Hurricane Ida recovery and other challenges in the nearly two years since she became the utility’s first female CEO. (NOLA.com)
• Voters in El Paso, Texas, will vote in May whether to have the city attempt to acquire an electric company and turn it into a municipal utility. (El Paso Matters)
• Oklahoma lawmakers advance legislation to reform how regulators consider electric rate increases, but kill bills to deregulate the utility system and to give utilities the right of first refusal to build certain transmission projects. (NonDoc)
HYDROGEN: Southeast U.S. senators from both parties partner to try to win a hydrogen hub from the Energy Department. (E&E News)
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GRID: Five Kentucky residents are dead and more than 100,000 were without power Sunday after a sprawling storm system battered the South and Midwest. (Lexington Herald-Leader, Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: North Carolina lawmakers should increase taxes on gas-powered vehicles and reduce fees for electric vehicle drivers to encourage the transition to cleaner cars, writes a lawyer. (Greensboro News & Record)
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