Lawsuit: Florida utility CEO made millions during political scandal

UTILITIES: A federal lawsuit alleges a former Florida Power & Light CEO made $5.4 million by selling more than 62,000 shares of company stock while it was mired in a scandal over political spending. (Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Hyundai’s plans to drill four wells to supply nearly 7 million gallons of water per day for its Georgia electric vehicle factory create concern among nearby residents. (The Current)
• Kentucky chooses developers to build its first round of 24 electric vehicle chargers, with another round set to go out for bid in the spring. (Northern Kentucky Tribune)

OIL & GAS: 

• Texas oil and gas companies spill wastewater an average of a thousand times per year, but state regulators have resisted new rules despite damage to soil, water and wildlife. (Inside Climate News)
• More than half of the 4 million barrels of crude exported daily from the U.S. in the first half of 2023 passed through one Texas port, frustrating some nearby residents who live in the industry’s shadow. (Houston Chronicle)
• A gas company seeks federal approval for a Florida liquefied natural gas export facility that was first pitched in 2019 but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Jacksonville Daily Record)

EMISSIONS:

• Florida is the only state to turn down federal money to reduce transportation-related emissions, leaving $320 million on the table because it won’t support ​“the continued politicization of our roadways.” (Tampa Bay Times)
• An effort to restore longleaf pine to Alabama and the Southeast runs into challenges, in part because the project generates carbon emissions. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE:

• A study reveals that while flooding and climate change are changing where Americans live, many people are still flocking to Sun Belt states that are vulnerable to rising seas and strong storms. (Associated Press)
• A study finds that while population growth in Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties will continue this century, residents will increasingly move out of dozens of neighborhoods prone to flooding. (Miami Herald)

GRID:

• Previously sealed search warrants reveal details of the investigation into last year’s shooting attacks on two North Carolina electrical substations that knocked out power for 45,000 customers. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• A strong nor’easter storm hits the Southeast, knocking out power to thousands of people and triggering concern even in the mountains. (NBC News, WLOS)
• A Virginia county board approves a 1.4 million-square-foot data center despite its developer’s failure to answer questions about the size of fuel tanks on its back-up generators. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
• University of Arkansas researchers receive a $2.9 million federal grant to develop solid-state power modules for the power grid and electrified transportation. (news release)

WIND: Scientists with the federal government and Nature Conservancy gear up to study how driving offshore wind turbines into the seafloor affects fish. (Virginia Mercury)

SOLAR:

• An energy fund announces a 100 MW Florida solar farm will be the first acquisition in its​fifth investment fund. (Renewables Now)
• After heated debate, a Georgia county board approves a solar farm. (Americus Times-Recorder)