ACTIVISM: Virginia’s relatively new chapter of national climate justice organization Third Act gives retirees and other older activists a vehicle to protest the Mountain Valley Pipeline and other fossil fuel infrastructure. (Energy News Network)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Volkswagen opens a new battery engineering lab at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, factory as it plans to ramp up production of an electric SUV this summer. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards considers signing legislation to create annual fees for electric vehicles and hybrids. (KPLC)
• Newly proposed federal rules and Texas’ recently released plan to install electric vehicle chargers fuel optimism about the shift to EVs. (Houston Chronicle)
• Georgia officials seek public input on transportation projects related to electric vehicle maker Rivian’s planned factory. (WSB-TV)
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OIL & GAS:
• A fire at a Gulf Coast liquified natural gas export terminal will close the country’s second-largest LNG export facility for at least three weeks. (Reuters, Forbes)
• A new report finds U.S. companies have secured at least 19 new export deals for nearly 24 million tons of liquified natural gas per year since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. (Inside Climate News)
• Companies scramble to expand and build new liquified natural gas export facilities along a stretch of the Gulf Coast that’s likely to see the highest sea-level rise in the U.S. (E&E News)
UTILITIES:
• A watchdog group reports Southern Company paid $62 million to organizations known for spreading climate change disinformation as it became the third-largest greenhouse gas polluter in the U.S. (Guardian)
• Two men die at a Kentucky power plant when they fall into a drainage collection system. (WSAZ)
SOLAR: A rural county board considers awarding a permit for a proposed 800 MW solar project after delaying a vote earlier this month. (SoVaNow.com)
WIND:
• North Carolina officials set a public hearing for a proposed 189 MW onshore wind farm. (Coastal Review)
• Dense clusters of wind farms in Oklahoma and Texas set the pace for a planned 16 GW of wind energy capacity in a central U.S. power pool territory. (S&P Global)
EMISSIONS: A House committee finds major oil and gas drillers are likely “significantly” underreporting methane emissions in the Permian Basin, while committee members disagree about how best to curb leaks. (Washington Post; CNN; E&E News, subscription)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, presses to find answers over a mysterious, gas-like smell that has lingered for decades in a predominantly Black and low-income neighborhood near an industrial hub. (Tampa Bay Times)
COAL: U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin of West Virginia lend their support to a House bill to strengthen abandoned coal mine reclamation and limit mine-related water pollution. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
GRID: An expert says Texas electricity rates have doubled because of dropping natural gas supplies and growing demand as the state power grid enters the summer season. (KTRK)
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