PIPELINES: A Texas pipeline owned by Energy Transfer explodes into flames after an SUV strikes a valve, prompting evacuation from homes within a half mile radius amid expectations the blaze will take more time to burn out. (Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman)

ALSO: 

SOLAR: A new Arkansas law to reduce net metering credits paid to solar energy producers is already dissuading school districts from installing solar facilities larger than 5 MW. (Arkansas Times)

EMISSIONS: A judge hears arguments in a conservation group’s lawsuit to block Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin from withdrawing the state from a regional carbon market. (WVTF)

OIL & GAS: 

COAL ASH: A North Carolina day care center plans “a complete playground renovation” after toxic elements from coal ash were found nearby. (WCNC)

CLEAN ENERGY: A study finds Kentucky’s 6.5% annual increase in clean energy jobs ties it with Texas for second in the nation, although it trails most of its neighbors in terms of total clean energy jobs. (Kentucky Lantern)

BIOGAS: 

GRID: 

UTILITIES: Clean energy groups urge federal regulators to reverse their approval of a real-time market consisting of Southeast utilities whose administrative expenses outweighed reported benefits. (Utility Dive)

COMMENTARY: Solar development and Virginia’s oversight of stormwater drainage have evolved to reduce sediment and pollution runoff into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, writes a rural clean energy advocate. (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.