Volkswagen, Rivian seal $5.8 billion EV partnership

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Rivian and Volkswagen finalize their $5.8 billion joint venture to develop electric vehicle software that will be used in models made at Rivian’s planned Georgia plant and Volkswagen’s Tennessee factory. (New York Times; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription; Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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ALSO:

• The outcome of the presidential election raises questions about the budding electric vehicle supply chain, as some speculate Donald Trump may ease mining restrictions for materials used in batteries while others point to his criticism of the EV industry. (E&E News)
• Virginia’s transportation department awards $22 million to build electric vehicle chargers at 35 locations along interstates and state highways. (Virginia Mercury)
• A company makes six electric vehicle fast chargers available to the public at a Florida bank. (news release)

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OIL & GAS:

• North Carolina residents and environmentalists criticize Duke Energy’s plan to convert a coal-fired power plant to gas, alleging the plan lacks adequate monitoring requirements and could result in some pollution increases despite its proximity to an elementary school. (WRAL)
• Exxon Mobil’s CEO warns President-elect Donald Trump against making radical changes to U.S. climate policy, and expresses opposition to carbon border tariffs backed by some congressional Republicans. (Politico)

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POLITICS: South Carolina lawmakers consider a proposed Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper gas-fired plant and a previous failed plan to build a nuclear plant as they determine how to boost energy generation to meet growing power demand. (South Carolina Public Radio)

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HYDROGEN: Appalachian residents worry a planned hub to use primarily natural gas to create hydrogen will increase fracking activity, produce pollution and degrade quality of life — part of a pattern of criticism that’s emerged against hydrogen hubs around the country. (Environmental Health News)

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OVERSIGHT: Largely in response to criticism of a lack of transparency, Virginia regulators publish a database of data centers’ air permits, which allow them to run diesel generators during outages. (Virginia Mercury)

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GRID: Georgia residents react against Georgia Power’s plan to build a transmission line through one of metro Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods. (WANF)

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EFFICIENCY: Two companies partner on a plan to distribute thousands of smart thermostats across Texas in hopes of developing a nearly 1 GW residential virtual power plant by 2035. (Utility Dive)

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BIOFUELS:

• A Florida company contracts with an engineering firm to build a facility to produce three million gallons of biofuel annually from agricultural waste and other biomass. (news release)
• A Florida man pleads guilty to his part in a scheme involving a biofuels company vastly overstating its production volume to generate tax credits from the U.S. EPA. (Biodiesel Magazine)

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CLIMATE:

• A panel of experts warn that North Carolina’s coastal communities should prepare for at least a 1-foot rise in sea levels by 2050. (Wilmington StarNews)
• A Tennessee researcher leads a project to develop generative artificial intelligence to optimize data collection to improve flood preparedness and response in Appalachia. (WJHL)

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UTILITIES: Tampa Electric files federal documents indicating it could file with Florida regulators to recover roughly $400 million from customers for damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. (News Service of Florida)

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ENVIRONMENT: A study ranks West Virginia as the country’s least environmentally sustainable state, based on factors that include high carbon dioxide emissions, low renewable energy use, and limited electric vehicle adoption. (WV News)

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