OIL & GAS: Two years after Winter Storm Uri froze natural gas plants and caused outages and soaring energy prices across the mid-South, Texas and Oklahoma not only haven’t shifted from the fossil fuel, but Texas lawmakers are doubling down and considering incentivizing even more gas plant construction. (E&E News)

CLIMATE:
• Kentucky is one of only four states that didn’t apply for $4.6 billion in federal funds to create a climate plan because, the Democratic governor’s office says, it’s leaving that option to individual cities. (Kentucky Lantern)
• Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tells transportation fleet managers at an energy conference that companies that don’t take part in the clean energy transition will fall behind. (The Advocate)
• A climate researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory likens the carbon capture and emissions reduction races to the national effort to develop the world’s first atomic bombs. (Oak Ridger)

SOLAR: Gainesville, Florida, city commissioners unanimously approve a solar plant site after four years of discussion, and also agreed to keep further solar projects away from historically Black neighborhoods in the area. (WCJB)

STORAGE: A Texas city’s commissioners approve a permit for a 100 MW battery storage plant, but hold off on granting a second permit for a smaller, 10 MW facility. (Valley Morning Star)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp calls for a shift in how federal tax credits for electric vehicles are awarded because they don’t currently include foreign vehicle models made in Georgia. (WAGA)
• Gov. Kemp unveils the first electric vehicle chargers in Georgia State Parks and pledges more to come. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• North Carolina officials try to figure out how to cover road maintenance as more motorists purchase electric vehicles and don’t pay gas tax, which accounts for half the state’s transportation funding. (Spectrum News)
• A North Carolina city looks forward to federal funding for more electric vehicle chargers because, while it currently offers some free chargers through an agreement with its electric utility, it hasn’t added new ones in years. (Fayetteville Observer)

COAL: West Virginia residents weigh in on FirstEnergy utilities’ proposal to hike rates to fund a 12-month evaluation of a coal-fired plant otherwise slated for closure. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board finds it hard to understand why conservatives who pledge fealty to the free market want to sabotage rapidly growing wind and solar power in the state. (Austin American-Statesman)
• The emerging climate crisis and recent extreme weather in Florida requires educators to ensure they’re prioritizing climate and environmental literacy, writes the head of a climate education advocacy group. (Miami Herald)
• The fate of a West Virginia coal-fired power plant that had been slated to close and will require at least a rate hike to keep open will be a harbinger for the future of power generation, writes a talk radio host. (WV Metro News)

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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.