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POLITICS: Federal investigators link a New Orleans-founded, Russian-backed natural gas company to illegal donations that went to several Louisiana Republican officials, but decline to penalize it on that charge. (The Advocate)

ALSO: • Climate change looms over Georgia’s many political races, but has largely been overlooked. (Atlanta Magazine) • Candidates contend for a Texas oil and gas regulatory post that’s been called one of the most consequential climate-related offices in the country. (KUT)

CARBON CAPTURE: • A startup eyes Louisiana for a large-scale hydrogen-ammonia production facility involving carbon capture and sequestration processes to reduce emissions. (Associated Press) • Officials at Louisiana utility Cleco discuss its plans to capture and store carbon emissions beneath a power plant as they strive to hit a decarbonization goal. (KALB) • A Louisiana university will monitor the health of the Lake Maurepas ecosystem as a company begins assessing the viability of a proposed carbon capture and sequestration project. (The Advocate)

SOLAR: • A Virginia county board denies a permit for a solar farm because of concerns about erosion and fear its panels might leak cadmium telluride. (Southwest Times) • A Virginia planning commission approves a planned solar farm’s plans to increase its acreage while reducing its power from 55 MW to 40 MW to allow for rotating panels. (Smithfield Times) • A Florida couple kept their house and electric cars powered through Hurricane Ian by using 21 rooftop solar panels and two Tesla Powerwall battery packs. (Longboat Observer) • One company sells to another a portfolio of 33 solar and battery storage projects totaling 6 GW across Texas and elsewhere. (Solar Builder)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: • Tesla delays plans to begin mass production of the Cybertruck at its Texas factory until the end of 2023. (Reuters) • As Ford and battery company SK gear up to build the $5.6 billion BlueOval City to make electric vehicles and batteries in Tennessee, a newspaper compiles frequently asked questions from community meetings. (Commercial Appeal)

WIND: A federal agency designates nearly 700,000 acres in two areas off Texas and Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore wind energy development. (Houston Chronicle)

TRANSITION: The U.S. Interior Department announces $140.75 million to reclaim abandoned mine lands in West Virginia. (news release)

OIL & GAS: • A Florida municipal gas utility downsizes a program that gives ratepayer money to charities and businesses in exchange for promotions after a newspaper investigation and subsequent review by the city manager. (Tampa Bay Times) • An expert says Florida’s gas-tax holiday benefited oil suppliers, not state taxpayers. (Orlando Sentinel, subscription)

UTILITIES: Florida Power & Light sees its quarterly profits increase following its merger with Gulf Power Company, driving a big profit increase for parent company NextEra Energy. (Utility Dive)

COMMENTARY: • Governments and policymakers must reform energy permitting and better engage communities through the clean energy transition to protect low-income communities of color who have borne the brunt of fossil fuels, writes an energy analyst. (Energy News Network) • An editor questions whether Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal for a small nuclear reactor will lead to the state lifting its moratorium on uranium mining. (Cardinal News)

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Mason has worked as a journalist since 2001, covering Appalachian communities and the issues that affect them. He compiles the Southeast Energy News digest. Mason previously worked as a wildlife biologist before moving into journalism by freelancing at Coast Weekly in Monterey, California, before taking an internship in 2001 at High Country News. He wrote for the Enterprise Mountaineer in western North Carolina and the Roanoke Times in western Virginia before going freelance in 2012. His work has appeared in Southerly, Daily Yonder, Mother Jones, Huffington Post, WVPB’s Inside Appalachia and elsewhere. Mason was born and raised in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and now lives with his family and a small herd of goats in Floyd County, Virginia.

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