N.C. manufacturers drop objection to Duke’s bill assistance program

UTILITIES: After previous resistance, a powerful group of North Carolina manufacturers and paper mills says it will drop its opposition to a Duke Energy program to assist thousands of households in Asheville and the eastern part of the state in paying electric bills. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: The Tennessee Valley Authority votes to deny a raise for CEO Jeff Lyash, the highest paid federal employee, after a fiscal year that included the workplace death of a site foreman and rolling blackouts during a December cold snap. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Rivian finalizes a 50-year agreement to rent 1,800 acres in Georgia as it gears up to build a $5 billion electric vehicle factory. (WAGA; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)
• A small Texas school district uses a $1.6 million federal grant to replace four buses with electric models, which will likely save the district enough money to hire another teacher. (Texas Tribune)
• A South Carolina factory will begin to produce electric Polestar 3 vehicles next year with an expected range of at least 300 miles, and new larger batteries are set to boost range even further in newer models. (Green Car Reports)

POLITICS:

• West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin announces he won’t run for re-election and may pursue a centrist presidential run, in part due to frustration over his role and the subsequent implementation of a federal climate package. (Politico)
• As a pivotal vote and chair of the U.S. Senate’s energy committee, Manchin’s support for fossil fuels and participation in drafting key climate-friendly laws leave a complicated legacy of shaping energy policy. (E&E News)

EMISSIONS: A Virginia judge denies standing to environmental groups suing to block Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s moves to withdraw the state from a regional carbon market. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

BIOMASS: Wood pellet producer Enviva falls into a financial crisis, threatening its plans to build new plants in Alabama and Mississippi and maintain operations in five other Southeast states. (Inside Climate News)

OIL & GAS:

• Dominion Energy’s plan to build a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia cast doubt on its state-mandated requirement to shift to producing only renewable energy by 2025. (Inside Climate News)
• Florida natural gas industry officials urge more dairy farms to operate anaerobic digesters to collect methane from cow manure to be turned into natural gas. (Florida Politics)
• Florida regulators approve funding for several programs to maintain and replace aging natural gas pipelines. (Capitolist)

GRID: Texas voters approved a new state fund to incentivize construction of natural gas-fired plants, but the new program is likely a year or more away from approving its first applications from participants. (Corpus Christi Caller Times)

COMMENTARY:

• Despite a growing number of Virginia counties that have placed moratoriums, acreage caps and outright bans on utility-scale solar, local-level case-by-case review of projects still remains the best solution for regulating such projects, writes a policy advisor. (Virginia Mercury)
• Polling shows conservatives increasingly worry about climate change, indicating that Florida candidates should back clean energy and climate initiatives, writes the state director for Conservatives for Clean Energy. (Invading Sea)
• A Florida solar user points to the Philadelphia Eagles, which powers its stadium with 11,100 solar panels and operates other sustainability measures, as a model for his local Jacksonville Jaguars. (Florida Times-Union)