SOLAR: A three-judge panel upholds Duke Energy’s reduced net metering payments to solar owners in North Carolina after hearing arguments that state regulators approved the scheme without an independent study of its costs and benefits. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: A Virginia city council approves a 5 MW solar farm that will provide inexpensive power for about 1,000 homes through a shared solar program. (Virginian-Pilot)

POLITICS: The trial of a Florida man accused of multiple campaign finance-related felonies could put the spotlight on Florida Power & Light for its alleged involvement in so-called “dirty tricks” to elect Republicans to help fulfill its legislative priorities. (Floodlight/Mother Jones)

OIL & GAS: 

PIPELINES:

BIOMASS: 

EMISSIONS: A judge considers arguments in a lawsuit alleging two Virginia agencies exceeded their authority when they moved to withdraw the state from a multi-state carbon market at the urging of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (Roanoke Times)

COAL: Advocates for coal miners with black lung urge West Virginia’s U.S. senators to support increases to the monthly black lung benefits stipend in the congressional budget bill. (West Virginia Watch)

TRANSIT: An Arkansas transit agency partners with a Georgia transportation center to develop a plan for transitioning to zero-emission buses. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, subscription)

NUCLEAR: Federal officials approve a construction permit for a research reactor at a Texas university, marking the first approved university research reactor in more than 30 years. (Power Engineering)

CLEAN ENERGY: Louisiana officials break ground on a planned co-working space and research center dedicated to renewable energy innovation. (NOLA.com)

UTILITIES: South Carolina power companies pitch state lawmakers on “cost trackers” to allow them to request rate increases when they reach milestones on large construction projects, such as a proposed $2.5 billion gas-fired power plant that’s expected to take seven years to build. (South Carolina Daily Gazette)

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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.