Alabama Power buying positive news coverage, investigation finds

UTILITIES: An investigation reveals Alabama Power now owns a news service and a historic Black newspaper — neither of which have recently published stories critical of the utility. (Floodlight/​Guardian)

ALSO: Georgia Power asks state regulators to build natural gas generation and buy more coal-fired power to accommodate surging levels of industrial growth, which would expand the utility’s reliance on fossil fuels even as its parent company aims to reach net-zero carbon emission by 2050. (Georgia Public Broadcasting, Macon Telegraph)

CLIMATE: The Southeast and much of the U.S. suffer a chilly cold snap that’s boosted power demand and tested the grid, even as other parts of the world swelter in a global illustration of climate change. (Associated Press)

GRID:

• The Texas’ grid has so far held firm against frigid temperatures, but a rapid shift in its energy mix and record-breaking demand that continues to grow raise questions about its stability. (Houston Chronicle; Bloomberg, subscription)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority calls for energy conservation as it projects record-breaking demand today amid forecasts for record-low temperatures. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

STORAGE: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves asks state lawmakers for $350 million in incentives to attract an electric vehicle battery factory that would employ about 2,000 people. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Democrats in the Virginia legislature vote down Republican attempts to roll back ​“clean cars” laws that tie the state’s transportation-related emissions to a California standard that will require all new vehicles to be emission-free by 2035. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press)
• North Carolina officials rework roads and seek to buy 13 houses, one business and a church to clear the way for Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast to build a factory. (Raleigh News & Observer)

PIPELINES: The Texas-based pipeline industry watches as Congress considers whether the industry needs additional safety reform due to almost daily instances of pipelines catching fire or leaking oil and natural gas. (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS:

• Duke Energy and other utilities increasingly consider onsite natural gas storage due to the increasingly fraught process of building pipelines and other supply issues. (States Newsroom)
• A year-old Texas company makes a play in the Permian Basin, buying up oil and gas assets along the Texas and New Mexico border. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

SOLAR:

• A company plans to build a 120 MW solar farm in Kentucky despite residents’ concerns about its environmental impacts. (WPSD)
• Kentucky residents fret about a planned solar farm they worry will be an ​“eyesore” that’s too close to residential areas. (Herald Ledger)

COAL: A company requests a permit from Tennessee regulators for a surface coal mine on land protected by the Nature Conservancy. (WPLN)

CARBON CAPTURE: Researchers investigate whether Louisiana marshes and their ability to capture carbon can be used to allow companies to invest in marsh restoration as an emissions offset. (WWNO)

POLITICS: West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s longtime press aide joins ExxonMobil’s government relations team in the latest example of the revolving door between the senator’s team of staffers and the fossil fuel industry. (American Prospect)

INSURANCE: Florida lawmakers move forward with legislation to soften the effect of skyrocketing insurance rates as climate change-related losses push insurance companies into bankruptcy or to stop writing new policies in the state. (Florida Politics)