PIPELINES: The U.S. Senate rejects an attempt by Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine to remove a provision to force completion of the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline on its way to passage of a deal to raise the debt limit. (Cardinal News, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

ALSO: West Virginia U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito have received more than $70,000 since 2018 from political action committees linked to the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which they helped push into the debt ceiling deal. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• An electric vehicle company announces plans to protect 5,000 acres near a national park in exchange for destroying more than 100 acres of wetlands for its planned South Carolina EV plant. (The State)
• Toyota ups its investment in a North Carolina electric-vehicle battery plant to $5.9 billion, making it the state’s single largest economic-development project commitment. (Greensboro News & Record)
• Dominion Energy moves to withdraw its proposal for a clean energy park and electric vehicle charging in a Richmond, Virginia, parking lot after an advocacy group complains it goes against the city’s plan to reduce dependency on cars. (WRIC)

SOLAR: An energy company announces plans to build a 10.75 MW solar farm in North Carolina. (Winston-Salem Journal)

WIND: Coastal Virginia residents disagree over plans to bring high voltage cables ashore from a planned offshore wind farm. (WAVY)

STORAGE: A Virginia city council considers plans for a 29 MW battery storage facility after its planning commission recommends approval. (Daily Press)

CLEAN ENERGY: Texas lawmakers end their legislative session without action on lowering energy use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions or lessening the disproportionate impact of pollution on communities of color. (Texas Tribune)

NUCLEAR:
• A West Virginia-based nuclear fusion energy technology company is one of eight companies to receive a total of $46 million to develop pilot fusion energy power plants. (WV News)
• An energy company acquires a 44% stake in a 2.6 GW nuclear power plant in Texas. (Power Technology)
• A Tennessee state senator expresses support for Gov. Bill Lee’s creation of an advisory council to help expand the state’s nuclear energy sector. (Oak Ridger)

HYDROGEN: Local advocacy groups in Appalachia and Texas complain they’ve largely been cut out of planning for federally funded hydrogen projects. (Inside Climate News)

EFFICIENCY: Savannah, Georgia, offers workshops about free energy-efficiency programs for income-qualified Georgia Power customers. (WTOC)

GRID: Florida Power & Light plans to move 750 power lines underground, strengthen overhead lines and install more “smart” devices as part of a grid hardening project in Fort Lauderdale. (South Florida Times)

COMMENTARY:
• Florida’s dual status as a Republican stronghold and one of the states most susceptible to climate change impacts mean GOP leaders should start taking clean energy more seriously, writes the former director of the Florida Republican Party. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Texas lawmakers’ attacks on renewable energy projects reflect their co-dependence with oil and gas interests and could undermine the state’s future as an energy leader, writes a columnist. (Creators Syndicate)
• A retired soil conservationist endorses a 20.75 MW solar farm proposed in Virginia because the developer will make land improvements to benefit pollinators and native species. (News Leader)

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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.