Historic Black Alabama community fights industrial encroachment

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The dwindling population of a historic Alabama community founded by former enslaved people fights the two-mile expansion of a rail line in a neighborhood already besieged by industrial pollution. (Next City/Reckon)

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COAL: Kentucky lawmakers advance a bill to form a commission charged with assessing energy generation and demand, likely adding yet another obstacle for utilities who want to retire aging and inefficient coal-fired power plants. (Associated Press)

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WIND: Dominion Energy will pay a Virginia city and historic lighthouse nearly $1 million to compensate for affecting their ocean views as it builds a sizable offshore wind farm. (Virginian-Pilot)

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NUCLEAR: Virginia lawmakers consider two proposals to let utilities charge ratepayers to develop advanced nuclear reactors, with the bills applying separately to Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy, along with some other differences. (Virginia Mercury)

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SOLAR: A Texas-based automotive supplier will source power from a 2.6 MW solar array on neighboring land in one of the state’s first three-party energy purchase agreements. (KABB)

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CLIMATE:

• The wildfires that have ravaged Texas this month are linked to climate change, but in ways that differ from the factors that have driven similar fires further west. (BBC)
• West Virginia lawmakers disagree over Gov. Jim Justice’s request for $50 million to establish a trust to implement the state’s flood resiliency plan. (Mountain State Spotlight)

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OIL & GAS: Mexico stands to become a major player in the global market for liquified natural gas, but the Biden administration’s pause on permitting LNG export facilities in the U.S. has delayed that prospect and given climate activists more time to fight back. (Inside Climate News)

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PIPELINES: A Canadian pipeline operator announces it will spend $500 million to expand its network and storage facilities along the Gulf Coast after raising its projected profits from purchasing three gas utilities from Dominion Energy. (Reuters)

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EFFICIENCY:

• Virginia lawmakers consider a bill to extend the window for ratepayers to apply to the state for energy bill assistance, as state regulators consider revised windows to eventually allow such applications year-round. (Virginia Mercury)
• Gainesville, Florida, receives a $189,820 grant to fund energy efficient upgrades in 25 to 30 low-income households. (Alachua Chronicle)

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EMISSIONS:

• Kentucky lawmakers consider a Republican-led resolution to declare a “sanctuary state” for fossil fuels and order state officials to defy the U.S. EPA’s air pollution rules. (Courier Journal)
• Attorneys general from Kentucky and West Virginia lead a coalition of 25 states and numerous business groups to challenge a proposed U.S. EPA rule to tighten standards for soot pollution. (Associated Press)
• North Carolina officials’ plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions includes a focus on “natural and working lands” that can store atmospheric carbon in the ground and in plants. (Coastal Review)
• Students at the University of Florida become the first in the nation to pass a student-led “green new deal” that presses administrators to shift entirely to renewables, eliminate research funding from fossil fuel companies, and divest from oil, natural gas and coal. (The Cool Down, Guardian)

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