NextEra plans to rebuild troubled Oklahoma wind project

WIND: NextEra Energy closes on a deal to acquire and replace a wind energy project in Oklahoma whose previous owner was sanctioned for safety violations. (Okahoman)

PIPELINE: Federal officials investigate a pipeline spill in Georgia; Kinder Morgan says it has repaired the leak but cleanup continues. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WABE)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Rivian’s planned $5 billion electric vehicle plant in Georgia becomes a wedge issue in the Republican primary for governor. (Washington Post)

NUCLEAR: An environmental group expresses concerns about the U.S. Energy Department’s plans to use a Tennessee landfill to dispose of low-level nuclear waste. (Oak Ridger)

EMISSIONS:
• Louisiana and Texas residents speak out against a proposed Louisiana methanol plant they fear will release greenhouse gasses and other pollutants. (KPLC)
• West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill to establish standards and practices for carbon capture and storage. (WV News)

OIL & GAS:
• Duke Energy plans to close a small South Carolina gas unit at the end of the month, more than eight years ahead of schedule. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscription)
• A Virginia legislative committee cuts part of a bill that would prohibit local governments from banning or restricting use of natural gas, leaving a requirement that natural gas providers provide three years of notice before discontinuing service. (Virginia Mercury)

GRID:
• Florida Power & Light moves forward with a project to extend high voltage power transmission lines an additional 45 miles between two northern Florida substations. (Northwest Florida Daily News)
• Florida Power & Light writes in its annual report that it has improved grid reliability for former Gulf Power customers by 58% since 2019. (NorthEscambia.com)

UTILITIES:
• The Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Laboratory sign an agreement to collaborate on decarbonization technology that includes carbon capture, hydrogen, electric vehicle charging, storage and nuclear. (Associated Press)
• Florida phone scammers spoof Duke Energy and other utilities to trick 175 people out of about $135,000. (WFTS)

CLIMATE: A Miami-area county works to combat rising seas with construction of a new seawall and an additional $200 million in new stormwater infrastructure. (WFOR)

COAL:
• West Virginia coal miners wear bright yellow uniforms on the state’s House floor to protest a bill to remove enforcement authority from mine inspectors and weaken other safety rules. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• West Virginia lawmakers consider legislation to create a state-funded insurance company that the coal industry doesn’t want, while looking to cut unemployment benefits for workers such as those who will lose their jobs when a coking plant closes this summer. (Mountain State Spotlight)

COMMENTARY:
• A columnist applauds a Texas school district for voting to deny a tax break for a planned 120 MW solar farm after listening to a coalition of residents who opposed it. (San Antonio Express-News)
• A waste management company threatens the health of Virginia Black and Indigenous communities while greenwashing its own record, write two researchers. (Virginia Mercury)