World’s largest carbon removal plant to open this week in Arkansas

CARBON CAPTURE: A Bill Gates-backed startup plans to begin production at what it says will be the world’s largest carbon removal plant this week, where it will collect woody biomass from area paper mills and convert it into bricks to be stored underground. (E&E News)

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ALSO: West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill to shift control of the permitting of carbon capture wells from the U.S. EPA to the state. (WV News)

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SOLAR:

• Puerto Rico’s governor signs a bill to extend the island’s net-metering program and protect its generous solar credits to accelerate the clean energy transition, even as states move to slow or dismantle their programs. (Grist)
• Mississippi State University uses a rebate incentive from the Tennessee Valley Authority to build the largest on-campus solar facility in the Southeastern Conference. (news release)
• Dozens of Kentucky residents join a lawsuit to block a town’s settlement with a solar farm they claim would harm their property values. (WEHT)

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OIL & GAS:

• Oil and gas operators in the Permian Basin raked in record profits last year, boosted by more than $1.4 billion in federal and state subsidies. (New York Times, news release)
• Oklahoma moves to shut down nine oil and gas wastewater wells that sit within ten miles of the epicenter of last week’s 5.1 magnitude earthquake. (KWTV/KSBI)

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EMISSIONS: A judge denies a motion by Virginia’s attorney general to throw out a lawsuit by an energy conservation group that seeks to block the state’s withdrawal from a regional carbon market. (Roanoke Times)

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OVERSIGHT: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry appoints a new leader for the state agency that oversees coastal restoration and hurricane protection, while also considering whether to merge that agency with the energy and natural resources department to make it easier for oil and gas companies to operate. (Louisiana Illuminator, NOLA.com)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Electric vehicle maker Rivian announces it will reveal the crossover SUV model the company will make at its planned Georgia factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• An Alabama airport announces construction of its first electric aircraft charging station. (WAKA)

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PIPELINES: A federal judge blocks a company’s attempt to condemn and transfer property for a Texas pipeline before talking to landowners it’s so far been unable to reach. (Texas Public Radio)

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GRID:

• North Carolina clean energy groups endorse Duke Energy’s proposal for a local, more proactive transmission planning process that could become a model for the Southeast. (Utility Dive)
• Despite congressional funding, projects to build and expand transmission lines between Texas wind farms and eastern cities have stalled in a clogged permitting system. (Houston Chronicle)
• A Texas grid regulator appointed after 2021’s Winter Storm Uri who resigned in December discusses weatherization and other efforts to make the grid more reliable as the state’s population and energy mix continue to shift. (Houston Chronicle)

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The U.S. EPA holds listening sessions to “ground-truth” its efforts in Richmond, Virginia, and other environmentally stressed communities as President Biden nears the end of his first term. (Inside Climate News)

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EFFICIENCY: North Carolina officials confirm the state applied for federal efficiency and appliance rebates, which should be available to residents later this year. (Winston-Salem Journal)

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COMMENTARY: News that Alabama Power is entering negotiations with the U.S. EPA to remove and recycle tons of coal ash could be good news for 300 square miles of “America’s Amazon” downstream from a coal-fired power plant, writes an opinion contributor. (New York Times)

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