Austin’s bumpy road to an all-electric transit fleet

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Austin, Texas’ transition to all-electric buses for its transit fleet has been plagued with reliability and maintenance issues, which are further complicated now that a bus supplier has filed for bankruptcy. (Austin Monitor)

ALSO: Mercedes-Benz considers moving production of an SUV out of its Alabama factory to make room for the electric vehicle planned to replace it. (WAVY)

PIPELINES:

• A pipeline complex in the Gulf of Mexico is closed while the U.S. Coast Guard investigates a crude oil spill southeast of New Orleans. (Reuters)
• The U.S. Supreme Court declines to stop construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline while Virginia landowners appeal a lower court’s decision. (Bloomberg, subscription)
• An Arkansas utility asks state regulators to approve a rate increase to cover the cost of growth and reliability improvements to its 7,200 miles of pipeline. (Mountain Home Observer)

SOLAR:

• A Virginia county planning board delays a vote on two proposed 80 MW solar farms until county commissioners approve a draft solar policy, but the timeline and details still remain unclear. (Farmville Herald)
• A Virginia county approves a permit for a 5 MW solar farm. (Gazette-Virginian)
• West Virginia regulators approve a 300-acre solar farm over the objections of residents who say they’re worried about views and farmland. (WCHS)

WIND: An energy firm completes construction of a 265.5 MW Texas wind farm and plans to begin operations before the end of the year. (Renewables Now)

NUCLEAR:

• Georgia regulators consider a proposed cost agreement to raise Georgia Power’s rates by roughly $9 per month to pay for two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. (WABE/​Grist)
• U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visits the Tennessee Valley Authority’s first small nuclear reactor in Tennessee. (Tennessee Lookout)

COAL: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice dismisses an 83% decline in severance tax revenues as ​“a blip in the screen” as the state’s cumulative revenue collections come in above estimates. (WV News)

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Energy Department awards $50,000 to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attract more clean energy companies. (KJRH)

GRID:

• Texas’ grid manager announces a new team of weatherization inspectors will begin work to ensure power reliability during the winter. (KBTX)
• A grid operator warns North Carolina and Virginia are among the states at risk of insufficient electricity supplies to keep up with demand during winter storms. (WXII)
• Georgia Power adds new smart grid technology in areas with frequent outages in hopes that sensors will detect and isolate problems. (WMAZ)

UTILITIES:

• Duke Energy pursues an ambitious plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while passing the cost to customers in North Carolina and other Southeast states who already pay some of the highest bills in the country. (Floodlight/​Assembly)
• Georgia Power drops its plans to acquire an ​“existing generating asset” to cover an unexpected demand spike after an environmental group formally challenges the utility’s secrecy around the potential purchase. (Savannah Morning News)

POLITICS:

• Houston’s mayoral candidates both promise to advance environmental justice and continue working with residents living over a toxic creosote plume, but the limitations of the office may hamper what they can do. (Houston Chronicle)
• Members of Louisiana governor-elect Jeff Landry’s transition team are connected to long-running litigation over the alleged illegal operation of a toxic and hazardous oil and gas waste dump in Montana. (Verite News)

COMMENTARY: Federal approval of Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm days after the cancellation of two New Jersey projects increases the odds that Virginia will become a major center for the wind energy industry, writes an editorial board. (Virginian-Pilot)