Kentucky-made, best-selling U.S. car to go all hybrid

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Toyota announces the Camry, produced in a Kentucky factory and the best-selling car in the U.S., will only be available as a hybrid. (WDRB)
• An auto parts maker connected to Toyota will build a third Georgia factory to make electrical converters for hybrid vehicles. (Associated Press)

GRID:

• Reports find that while the eastern U.S. has added ​“some window dressing weatherization efforts,” the power grid remains at ​“elevated risk” of running short of power during severe weather this winter. (States Newsroom)
• Virginia’s booming data center industry is the subject of increased scrutiny by state officials and a Dominion Energy-led workgroup looking at ways to improve permitting for electric transmission and generation around the projects. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A report finds Texas’ power grid is at more risk of a shortage in reserves this winter than last, even as the state grid operator opts not to add more capacity. (Laredo Morning-Times, KTRK)
• The head of an Eastern Kentucky electrical cooperative says the U.S. EPA’s proposal to regulate carbon from power plants is ​“unlawful and unworkable.” (Kentucky Lantern)
• Entergy opens a $32.5-million facility to consolidate grid operations in Mississippi. (Vicksburg Daily News)

WIND: Dominion Energy forges forward with its plans to develop an offshore wind industry hub in Virginia despite the cancellation of a major turbine factory. (Virginia Mercury)

COAL ASH: Georgia environmentalists want the U.S. EPA to intervene after state regulators approve Georgia Power’s plan to leave coal ash partially submerged in groundwater at a power plant. (Rome News-Tribune)

OIL & GAS:

• A federal court strikes down a key air permit for a liquified natural gas export terminal in Texas after finding the state’s approval was ​“arbitrary and capricious.” (Grist)
• Climate activist Bill McKibben sounds the alarm on the Biden administration’s approval of a string of liquified natural gas projects on the Gulf Coast and elsewhere. (Canary Media)
• The arrival of new natural gas lines prompts residents of a Florida city to decide whether to switch from propane to the new service. (Vero News)

SOLAR: Two companies contract for the power produced by a 270 MW solar farm under construction in Texas. (PV Magazine)

STORAGE: Dominion Energy and a Virginia university partner to install a 1.5 MW metal-hydrogen battery as a back-up power source at a multi-purpose center. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COAL: An investigation finds federal officials severely underestimated the extent of black lung disease in Appalachia’s coal-producing regions, as well as the likely impact of a new regulation to limit miners’ exposure to silica dust. (NPR)

CLIMATE:

• Coral reefs off the Texas coast remain relatively healthy after experiencing only moderate bleaching during this summer’s heat event that devastated reefs in Florida and elsewhere. (Associated Press)
• A Republican-controlled Texas board rejects seven of 12 proposed eighth-grade science textbooks, largely because they include policy solutions for climate change or were produced by a company with environmental goals in its mission. (Texas Tribune)

COMMENTARY:

• Recent labor wins securing new contracts with UPS and the ​“Big Three” automakers could prompt pushes to unionize large Kentucky employers Amazon and Toyota, writes an economic analyst. (Louisville Courier Journal)
• This summer’s extreme heat slowed Texas’ economy, pointing to the need to prepare cities and the power grid against continued warming, writes an editorial board. (Dallas Morning News)