How the fight to save streams could derail the Mountain Valley Pipeline

PIPELINES: The conservation director for the nonprofit Wild Virginia discusses why protesters have stuck with their effort to shut down the Mountain Valley Pipeline ahead of a state board’s vote on a critical permit. (Energy News Network)

POLITICS: Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin pledges to use executive action to withdraw Virginia from a regional carbon market less than a week after the state netted $228 million from completing its first full cycle of quarterly carbon auctions. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Mercury)

COAL:
• Coal workers diverge from other unions supporting President Biden’s climate agenda over concerns that clean energy jobs likely represent a major drop in pay. (New York Times)
• A federal judge rules West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies must pay $2.5 million for environmental violations and clean-up at sites in Alabama and Tennessee. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

OIL & GAS: Southeastern utilities are retiring coal but say they need to add natural gas to ensure reliability, frustrating environmentalists and illustrating a larger challenge to decarbonization. (E&E News)

UTILITIES:
• The municipal utility in Jackson, Tennessee, signs a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority after nearly two years evaluating potential alternative suppliers. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Florida regulators approve an $810 million rate hike for Florida Power & Light, representing nearly $7 a month for customers who use 1,000 kW. (WFLA)

WIND: A libertarian think tank works to build opposition to offshore wind farms in beach communities, including in Virginia and North Carolina. (The Intercept)

SOLAR:
• A West Virginia county commission votes to support a 50 MW solar farm proposed in a larger plan to build five utility-scale solar energy projects in the state. (The Review)
• Mississippi regulators set a hearing for a 100 MW solar project, and approve a $75 million rate hike for Mississippi Power to pay for storm damage. (Greenwood Commonwealth)

GRID: Texas regulators and the oil and gas industry assure state residents that the state’s power grid is ready for winter. (Texas Tribune)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Florida county transit board votes to spend $80 million to buy 60 electric buses over the next five years. (WFLA)
• A Florida transportation official tells lawmakers the state will receive $16.7 billion for transportation projects from the federal infrastructure bill, including $40 million a year to develop electric vehicle charging stations and expand Amtrak rail services. (News Service of Florida)
• Virginia Tech announces three new electric vehicle charging stations on campus. (news release)

CLIMATE:
• Kentucky’s three largest bourbon makers pledge to reach net-zero carbon emission in coming decades. (WFPL)
• The federal government invests $815,000 in nearly 800 renewable energy projects to make rural Florida communities more resilient against climate change. (WTSP)

HYDROPOWER: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses a ​“poiree needle system” at a dam on an Arkansas river to begin to fix a leak that has resulted in low water levels. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)