Biden pauses Gulf Coast LNG buildout to consider climate effects

OIL & GAS: The Biden administration temporarily halts some permits for new liquified natural gas export terminals on the Gulf Coast as it instructs the Energy Department to consider their climate effects. (Louisiana Illuminator, Washington Post)

ALSO: LanzaJet opens a sustainable jet fuel refinery in Georgia, boosted by $18 million in federal funding and $50 million from a Bill Gates-led clean energy funding group. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

EMISSIONS:

• Virginia Democrats want to rejoin a regional carbon market but don’t have the numbers to overcome a likely veto from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who previously pushed a state board to withdraw from the group. (Virginian-Pilot)
• Texas companies released more than 1 million pounds of unplanned pollution during a cold snap earlier this month. (Texas Tribune/​Inside Climate News)

SOLAR:

• A Georgia county planning board recommends denying NextEra’s proposed 150 MW solar farm after residents complain about its potential effects on the environment and their property values. (WYFF)
• Louisiana regulators approve Entergy’s request to build 175 MW and 49 MW solar farms. (news release)
• Houston residents navigate the tricky process of completing unfinished or botched solar installations purchased from companies that go out of business. (Houston Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Volkswagen becomes the first international automaker to qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit through its production of electric SUVs at its Tennessee factory. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear aims to attract more South Korean companies after SK On invests in a pair of electric vehicle battery factories with Ford. (Courier Journal)
• Officials cut the ribbon on a south Florida island’s first electric charging station. (News Press)

OIL & GAS: Texas regulators identify dangerous levels of a carcinogenic chemical in water erupting from an old oil well. (Houston Chronicle)

UTILITIES:

• An Arkansas natural gas utility files for a rate increase following a year in which it was the subject of a class-action lawsuit and state investigation over its billing practices. (KATV)
• Democratic Congress members and environmental groups criticize the Tennessee Valley Authority for a lack of transparency and for leaning toward natural gas over renewables in its long-term planning documents. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

ACTIVISM: Young climate activists converge on Tallahassee to lobby the Florida legislature for worker protections, clean energy and other bills to address climate change. (Miami Herald, WUSF)

CARBON CAPTURE: A British power plant company announces it will open a new carbon capture business headquartered in Houston, Texas. (Power Technology, news release)

INFRASTRUCTURE: A Tennessee commission finds the state needs​$68 billion in infrastructure improvements, with half of that just for transportation and utility infrastructure. (WBIR)

CLIMATE:

• Louisiana ranks third in the U.S. for states most affected by rising heating costs, with a 37.8% increase. (KTAL)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority doesn’t expect major flooding on the Tennessee River watershed, but localities are still concerned about the effects of melting snow and heavy rain in the forecast. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• Federal officials say recent rainfall has pushed a saltwater wedge that had crept up the Mississippi River back toward the Gulf of Mexico, temporarily ending concern about potential drinking water contamination. (NOLA.com)