Austin city council strikes parking minimums

CLIMATE: Austin, Texas, becomes the largest city in the country to drop minimum parking requirements for new developments in a move aimed at lowering emissions and increasing housing supply. (Texas Tribune)

ALSO: Florida’s Miami-Dade County considers what would be the nation’s first heat-related protections for outdoor workers in the construction and agriculture industries, with a final vote set for Tuesday. (Florida Phoenix)

UTILITIES:

• A second member in as many meetings resigns from a Gainesville, Florida, municipal utility board following its disputed state takeover and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointment of an all white male board. (Gainesville Sun)
• Entergy New Orleans customers are seeing bills rise at the fastest pace in nearly two decades, with more hikes on the horizon if the city approves a $1.3 billion storm resilience project. (Louisiana Illuminator)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A St. Petersburg, Florida, transit agency will use Volkswagen settlement money to replace dozens of diesel buses with all-electric models. (Catalyst)
• A Virginia woman says her homeowners association won’t let her install an EV charger despite a state law against unreasonable restrictions. (NBC 4)
• A Georgia logistics company partners with Hyundai to help train future workers for the automaker’s $7.6 billion EV factory. (Times Free Press)
• While Virginia’s governor tries to repeal the state’s scheduled phaseout of gasoline cars, some car dealers embrace the EV transition. (WTKR)
• Alexandria is Virginia’s only city with a full-time city planner dedicated to improving access to electric vehicle charging stations. (The Zebra)

GRID:

• As Texas voters consider a ballot measure offering low-interest loans to gas-fired power plant operators, the state’s grid operator asks generators to prepare to unretire power plants in the event of a major winter storm. (E&E News)
• Georgia Power rebuilds part of a power line serving a hospital as part of a 10-year, $10 billion grid project to improve reliability. (WALB)

COAL:

• Alabama utility regulators are expected to eventually decide who pays most for Alabama Power’s coal ash cleanup: its customers or its shareholders. (AL.com)
• A coal mining engineer explains how reclaimed mine land can be used to benefit communities in Kentucky and Appalachia. (WKYT)

OIL & GAS:

• “Drill baby drill, that’s what we’re going to do.” Donald Trump tries to win over oil industry donors at a campaign stop in Houston. (Houston Chronicle)
• An upcoming sale of federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico is officially postponed amid a legal fight over whale protections. (Associated Press)

CARBON CAPTURE: A Louisiana legislative task force established to study the benefits of carbon capture and sequestration will begin meeting on Monday. (Business Report)

RENEWABLES: A Texas school district asks voters to approve a $50 million bond proposal financed with wind and solar revenue rather than a tax increase. (KCEN)