SOLAR: Virginia advocates ask state regulators to reject Dominion Energy and state officials’ proposed double-digit monthly fees for solar subscribers, saying they would negate customer benefits from a new multifamily shared solar program. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• A Virginia county commission will hold a public hearing tonight for an 800 MW solar facility as rural communities rethink their initial enthusiasm for utility-scale projects. (Cardinal News)
• Louisiana lawmakers float a new financial incentive that one representative says could be used to attract solar and battery development near New Orleans. (KALB)
• A company completes construction of a 65 MW solar plant near San Antonio, Texas. (PV Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt presses state lawmakers to approve a lucrative financial package to secure an economic development deal with a company that many speculate is an electric battery manufacturer. (CNHI News, KFOR)
• Georgia residents speak out against a planned Rivian electric vehicle plant near Atlanta during the first of four scheduled meetings. (WXIA)
• The U.S. Department of Energy lends a graphite mining company $107 million to expand an electric vehicle battery parts plant in Louisiana. (Reuters)
• Tesla pushes customers to oppose Oklahoma legislation related to EV manufacturers who sell cars without a franchise dealership model, warning it could result in closures of its service center locations. (KFOR)

EMISSIONS: Louisiana residents are urged to shelter inside, turn off their air conditioners and close all doors and windows due to a release of chlorine caused by a fire at a nearby chemical plant. (The Advocate)

NUCLEAR: The Tennessee Valley Authority and Southern Co. consider the potential of small, modular nuclear reactors as utilities and startup firms try to convert aging coal power plants to nuclear power. (Wall Street Journal)

COAL:  AWest Virginia court calls for a retrial in a long-running dispute between a coal-fired power plant known for buying waste coal from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s family company and a landowner that claims the plant owes years of back rent. (Times West Virginian)

OIL & GAS: The Texas oil and gas industry adds thousands of jobs as it secures more drilling permits in the Permian Basin, but the leader of a trade group says it’s still not enough to get the industry back to where it was pre-pandemic. (KIII)

GEOTHERMAL: Oklahoma researchers explore repurposing old oil and gas wells to circulate water for heating and cooling at a school. (Vox)

POLITICS: Two Democratic Florida lawmakers file bills to require the state to generate all of its electricity through renewable energy by 2040. (Orlando Weekly)

GRID: Last year’s winter storm in Texas prompts Florida Power & Light to review its storm preparedness, keep some power plants in rotation instead of retiring them, and nearly double its planned battery storage capacity. (Palm Beach Post)

COMMENTARY: Florida Power & Light customers are down to their last hope for lower power rates as an advocacy group asks the ​​Florida Supreme Court to overturn a settlement approved by regulators last year, writes an editorial board. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, subscription)

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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.