Arkansas is home to lithium motherlode, researchers say

STORAGE: Researchers announce the discovery of between five million and 19 million tons of lithium in Arkansas, but its usefulness depends on whether companies can scale up new ways to extract the battery ingredient from underground brine. (New York Times)

ALSO: Georgia officials consider a nearly $870,000 tax break to lure a battery maker to open an ​“innovation center” with 110 jobs in Atlanta. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

COAL:

• A metallurgical coal operation plans to expand its operations at an Alabama mine to include federally owned coal, testing the Biden administration’s commitment to phase out the mining of publicly owned coal reserves in the West. (Inside Climate News)
• North Carolina officials set a public hearing on Duke Energy’s plans to retire coal-fired boilers and replace them with gas-fired turbines at two power plants. (Mooresville Tribune)

SOLAR:

• A Texas company announces plans to build a 100 MW solar farm in Arkansas. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• The University of Arkansas celebrates a $31.8 million to support the construction of 18 solar projects across the state, including at an 18-acre site that will need to be rezoned. (Magnolia Reporter)

EFFICIENCY: Texas is among 23 states that have yet to submit plans to access billions in federal funding in homeowner rebates for energy efficient upgrades. (Houston Chronicle)

OIL & GAS: A saltwater geyser carrying poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas and what appears to be oil has been erupting in Texas for two weeks, years after an oil company warned of faults and fractures in the area that could allow wastewater to contaminate groundwater and natural springs. (Houston Chronicle)

GRID: Federal officials announce $2 billion for grid resilience and innovation, including funding for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Georgia Power and Texas’ Entergy subsidiary. (S&P Global, news release)

UTILITIES: FirstEnergy subsidiaries open the second of five planned solar farms in West Virginia, even as company officials announce they’ve largely abandoned a plan to close two coal-fired power plants in the state by 2030. (Electrek, Power Engineering)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The U.S. EPA announces $2.49 million for a Louisiana-based environmental justice center, which will distribute it in $50,000 to $100,000 increments for community-led projects. (NOLA.com)

OVERSIGHT: The Republican incumbent for a Texas regulatory board that oversees the oil and gas industry has raised more than $10 million in her reelection campaign against three challengers. (Inside Climate News, San Antonio Report)

HYDROPOWER: The Tennessee Valley Authority works to replace 14 spillway gates on a 151 MW Tennessee dam. (WBIR)

EMISSIONS: Duke University in North Carolina announces it has attained carbon neutrality, becoming one of only 14 U.S. colleges and universities to do so. (Duke Chronicle)

CLIMATE:

• A study reveals nearly 7,000 Virginia properties have repeatedly filed claims for flooding damage, but only a fraction of those have installed flood mitigation measures. (Virginia Mercury)
• Residents in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas seek mental health support after their lives were disrupted by Hurricane Helene. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)