HURRICANE IAN: Ian’s death toll rises to at least 62 people as search and cleanup efforts continue in Florida and the Southeast, even as flooding issues continue to worsen in parts of the state. (Washington Post, WESH)
ALSO:
• Florida officials assess the damage after Ian, and crews work to restore electricity after residents had been without power for several days. (Politico, Daytona Beach News-Journal)
• Federal officials vote to send federal disaster aid to Florida and other Southeast states affected by Ian, but warn people and businesses to weigh risks before rebuilding in coastal areas vulnerable to extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. (Associated Press, Guardian)
• North Carolina residents and utility crews begin cleanup after Hurricane Ian dumps 2 inches of rain and knocks down trees. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• A Florida community known as “America’s first solar-powered town” that was designed to channel flooding away from houses into its streets navigated Ian with no loss of power and little damage. (CNN)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Georgia judge strikes down a key piece of the state’s $1.5 billion incentive package for electric vehicle maker Rivian, threatening the project while providing a potential pathway for residents elsewhere to challenge local property tax breaks. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• A Tennessee city that’s home to a Volkswagen factory has experimented and promoted electric vehicles for decades, but lags the rest of the country in EV sales. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
WIND: Dominion Energy files a rebuttal to Virginia regulators, environmental groups and Walmart, which are pushing to keep a performance guarantee on the utility’s planned offshore wind farm. (Virginia Mercury)
SOLAR: Ohio’s attorney general announces an investigation of a North Carolina-based solar company that shut down over numerous customer complaints about malfunctioning and underperforming solar panels. (WBTV)
COAL:
• South Carolina state-owned utility Santee Cooper will restore a coal-fired generator that was idled two years ago to ensure it can go into service this winter if needed. (Post and Courier)
• Critics question whether utilities asking for a West Virginia rate increase could have avoided doing so if they’d managed their coal supplies better. (WV Metro News)
OIL & GAS: An energy service company touts its ability to construct and deliver natural gas peaker plants to meet spiking energy demand after building a Texas gas plant in just 38 weeks. (Power)
BIOMASS: A wood pellet company announces the opening of a new factory in Mississippi. (news release)
MINING: Officials in a Virginia county claim the ability to ban gold mining after a Canadian prospecting company confirms the presence of a high-grade gold vein there. (Farmville Herald)
GRID: More than 100,000 customers in Puerto Rico still don’t have power more than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona knocked out its grid. (NPR)
UTILITIES: A Tennessee Congress member and longtime critic of the Tennessee Valley Authority files legislation to remove its exemption from outside competition. (Commercial Appeal)
COMMENTARY: Worsening climate change is pushing more people into hospitals, although they don’t always recognize it because they’re seeking relief for conditions such as heat exhaustion and asthma, writes an Atlanta nurse. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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