Southeast particularly vulnerable to climate change

EMISSIONS: A new federal report details how climate change is affecting every region in the U.S., and the Southeast’s geography and inequities make it especially vulnerable. (Grist, WFAE, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

ALSO:

• New federal data shows a slight decline in emissions around Lousiville, Kentucky, though low-income and Black neighborhoods continue to be the most exposed. (Louisville Courier Journal)
• A pair of companies begin working together to capture, process and store emissions from a Texas natural gas processing plant. (Offshore Technology)
• A Florida rancher experiments with invisible electric fences to manage cattle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (WUSF)
• A North Carolina recycled steel company sets a 2050 net-zero target. (Recycling Today)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• North Carolina experiences a surge of new electric vehicle and battery-related investment, but questions linger over whether the region’s workforce can fill the industry’s labor needs. (Wilmington StarNews)
• Hyundai announces raises for factory workers in Alabama and its planned electric vehicle plant in Georgia. (Associated Press)
• Georgia auto dealerships adjust their sales strategies as electric vehicle inventories begin to accumulate. (Atlanta Business Journal, subscription)

WIND:

• A federal court seems likely to order officials to proceed with an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico without additional protections for an endangered whale. (E&E News)
• A developer begins operations at a 197 MW Texas wind farm. (Renewables Now)

SOLAR:

• An Atlanta, Georgia-based solar company grows by participating in an initiative to install solar in Africa. (Global Atlanta)
• A small Virginia town considers an ordinance to allow medium- and small-scale solar projects. (South Boston News & Record)
• A Florida subdivision signs an agreement with a Tampa-based company to install 77 solar arrays linked in a microgrid. (PV Magazine)

NUCLEAR:

• Duke Energy says the cancellation of a small nuclear plant in Oregon won’t affect its plans to replace coal with nuclear power in North Carolina. (WFAE)
• A French nuclear power company with its U.S. headquarters in Virginia recruits for 200 new jobs. (Virginia Business)

GRID:

• The head of a team that oversees the wholesale power market for Texas’ grid operator resigns after a disagreement over potential changes to the market’s structure and independence. (Utility Dive)
• A power company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, receives a $32.3 million federal grant to improve the grid. (WDEF)

STORAGE:

• A Virginia native wins honors for a book about the history and future of the batteries in the clean energy transition. (Roanoke Times)
• A Kentucky military base receives a federal grant for 1,750 kWh battery and 800 kW natural gas fuel cells to store and conserve energy. (Fort Knox News)

OIL & GAS: An energy company purchases three natural gas-fired power plants in Texas totaling 1.5 GW. (Power Technology)

BIOMASS: A company that reduces the carbon footprint of agriculture and timber companies by removing and compressing biomass opens an industrial site in Arkansas. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

COAL:

• Dominion Energy completes its cleanup and removal of 38,500 tons of coal tar from South Carolina’s Congaree River, finding hundreds of Civil War artifacts in the process. (The State, CBS News)
• Coal and agricultural businesses owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice sue to block an attempt by a Virginia bank to collect on more than $300 million in personal loan guarantees. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)