Study examines pollution, climate risk & justice in two Texas cities

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A new federal study will examine two Texas cities to unpack how air pollution, increased flooding risk, and environmental justice tie together for communities of color and low-income residents. (Inside Climate News)

CARBON CAPTURE:
• Louisiana residents continue to push back against potential carbon capture projects by imposing two moratoriums against the technology. (The Advocate)
• Documents reveal a Louisiana power plant’s proposed $900 million carbon capture retrofit would reduce energy production by 30%, while studies suggest it also could increase the plant’s water use by about 55%. (The Lens)

SOLAR:
• A Virginia county considers revising its zoning ordinance to allow businesses to use their buildings for solar development and lay out rules for larger, utility scale solar projects. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A Virginia town council sets a public hearing on a proposed 5 MW solar farm. (News & Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Critics question a North Carolina city’s plan to spend $1.7 million on gas-powered vehicles for its police department when other state law enforcement agencies are purchasing hybrid or electric vehicles. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• The University of Miami purchases its first two electric vehicles for its campus fleet as it builds EV charging infrastructure. (news release)
• Arkansas begins to accelerate installation of electric vehicle infrastructure as a new study shows it ranks 45th in the country for EV infrastructure but 14th for interest among state residents. (Talk Business & Politics, KLRT)
• An Arkansas transit agency in Walmart’s hometown will test an electric van. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

GRID: More than two weeks after Hurricane Ian, power is restored to the first homes in a particularly hard-hit Florida town. (News-Press)

COAL: A North Carolina town council discusses concerns about a coal-fired power plant at the University of North Carolina and the coal ash it has generated. (Daily Tar Heel)

EFFICIENCY: A small Arkansas town replaces its streetlights with LEDs to cut down on light pollution. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

NUCLEAR: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces he’ll include a $10 million line item in his proposed budget for energy research, with half of it to develop a small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia. (Cardinal News)

CLIMATE:
• North Carolina feels the effects of climate change, from urban heat islands to farmers trying to roll with the changing weather. (WFAE)
• North Carolina and federal agencies hold a webinar to improve resilience in the state’s shellfish aquaculture industry against climate change. (Coastal Review)
• Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s agricultural industry hard, including citrus groves, its cattle industry, dairy, vegetables and even hundreds of thousands of bees essential to many growers. (Associated Press)

POLITICS: Texas stands to reap a huge windfall in federal tax credits for what is the largest wind and solar grid in the U.S., but its elected leaders still lean against renewables in favor of ​“cheap, plentiful” fossil fuels. (Capital & Main)