U.S. sets Carolina offshore wind auction

WIND: The federal government announces it will auction the right to produce wind power in two areas off the North Carolina and South Carolina shores. (Associated Press)

ALSO: Louisiana lawmakers advance legislation to create a framework for offshore wind leasing, despite the industry’s objections to letting the state take a cut of revenues while also charging for leases. (NOLA.com)

SOLAR:
• Subsidiaries of FirstEnergy and American Electric Power file requests with West Virginia regulators for rate hikes connected to proposed solar projects, triggering objections over escalating rates. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A Virginia city launches the state’s first municipal utility-led solar program for ratepayers who choose to get power from a new solar farm. (Daily News Record)
• Florida rooftop solar customers who want to disconnect from Florida Power & Light’s grid face rampant misinformation and local government officials who don’t fully understand disconnection rules. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• Efforts to ramp up liquified natural gas exports from Louisiana will likely be slowed by lengthy construction timelines, maxed-out capacities, regulatory pressures and opposition from environmental advocates. (The Advocate)
• Barrels of U.S.-produced oil that normally would have gone to an Oklahoma storage hub shift instead to the Gulf Coast as exports ramp up. (Reuters)

EMISSIONS: A natural gas-fired power plant touted by Florida Power & Light as a step toward clean energy still joins coal-powered plants near the top of a list of heavy carbon dioxide emitters. (Palm Beach Post)

LITHIUM:
• Federal and state officials say a lithium battery startup that plans to open a West Virginia factory may pave a path for the state through the energy transition. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A subsidiary of Koch Industries invests $100 million in a company that aims to produce lithium from an underground brine in southern Arkansas. (Arkansas Business)

UTILITIES: The CEO of Florida Power & Light says the company faces rising energy costs but is shifting from coal to natural gas to try to keep rates down. (NorthEscambia.com)

CLIMATE: An expert says climate change is worsening wildfires that have scorched more than 120,000 acres in Texas this month. (WFAA)

POLITICS:
• U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has consistently acted to help a West Virginia power plant that is the only customer of his family’s coal business, including at the expense of ambitious federal climate legislation. (New York Times)
• Kentucky lawmakers advance legislation to pull state investments from firms that screen for environmental, social and governance factors. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• Public officials should stand against a company with a long history of spills as it looks to build a pipeline through a lake on the Louisiana/​Texas border, writes a longtime resident of a nearby community. (Houston Chronicle)
• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper must close the gap between the state’s climate goals and likely policy results that fall short of achieving them, writes a staffer with an environmental advocacy group. (Coastal Review)