Volkswagen workers in Tennessee rally ahead of union vote

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Workers rally at Volkswagen’s Tennessee factory ahead of a potentially pivotal vote to unionize amid a larger push by the United Auto Workers to organize plants in the largely non-union Southeast that are pivoting to make electric vehicles. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

ALSO:

• Texas-based Tesla announces it will lay off about 10% of its workforce amid sagging sales, but seems to be hitting its goal of producing batteries for the new Cybertruck. (Associated Press, The Cool Down)
• North Carolina awards a permit to a company to mine lithium, which the company hails as a step toward making the region a leader in the electric vehicle supply chain. (WSOC)

GRID:

• Growing power demand, a lack of weatherization and the transition from coal continue to strain Texas’ independent power grid. (Houston Chronicle)
• Virginia Tech researchers receive a $2.5 million federal grant to research cheaper and safer ways to drill to place power lines underground. (Cardinal News)
• A data center proposal in Virginia leads a county board member to fret about the possibility of power companies using eminent domain to take land for new electrical facilities. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

OIL & GAS:

• An analysis projects Texas power generators will likely set another new demand record for natural gas this summer amid low gas prices and the shift from coal. (S&P Global)
• U.S. House Republicans plan another hearing to criticize the Biden administration’s pause on awarding permits for new liquified natural gas export terminals along the Gulf Coast. (E&E News, subscription)

RENEWABLES: Dominion Energy issues a request for solar, wind and battery storage projects in Virginia to reduce the burden on the power grid and help it attain its net zero emissions goal by 2050. (Energy Storage News)

WIND:

• Dominion Energy moves a 471-foot construction vessel to the water and receives final federal approval for its offshore wind farm near Virginia. (Virginia Mercury)
• Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities add a wind turbine at a renewable energy research facility in Kentucky as they look to transition from an energy mix that’s currently 81% coal and 18% natural gas. (WKYU)

SOLAR:

• A North Carolina county sees savings of 40%-60% in utility bills at facilities where it’s installed solar arrays. (Asheville Watchdog)
• A Texas company sues multiple Maine businesses for failing to pay for solar installations. (Bangor Daily News)

TRANSPORTATION:

• A Texas county and Houston-area government group receive more than $10 million in federal grant funding to plan improvements to roads in fast-growing areas susceptible to flooding. (Houston Public Media)
• A San Antonio, Texas, advisory board recommends tripling the number of permits allowed for e-vehicles for hire, from 10 to 30. (San Antonio Report)

UTILITIES: Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility appoints a new interim CEO after its former top executive resigns, reportedly over a disagreement over its future direction. (Florida Times-Union)

COMMENTARY:

• Selling carbon credits to companies looking to meet net zero goals can help fund the plugging of Oklahoma’s abandoned oil and gas wells, writes a geologist. (Oklahoman)
• The CEO of Mississippi’s electric cooperatives association expresses wariness about the U.S. EPA’s new power-plant regulations, arguing that carbon capture and hydrogen technologies shouldn’t be mandated. (Laurel Leader-Call)