EFFICIENCY: A Virginia church wants to finance upgrades to its 1960s-era HVAC system as part of the state’s first commercial property-assessed clean energy project. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Manatee County, Florida, officials approve energy efficiency standards for a middle school being rebuilt, but some are concerned about the costs. (Bradenton Herald)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla is reportedly considering Nashville for the location of a new electric truck manufacturing plant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)  

GRID:
• Entergy extends its power grid to a major Louisiana port and oil export hub so ships no longer need to burn diesel while doing work. (Houma Courier)
• NextEra is challenging a Texas law allowing incumbent utilities first dibs on building new high-voltage power lines, which could have implications around the U.S. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: Martinsville, Virginia, officials approve initial plans to build a solar facility on a former golf course. (Martinsville Bulletin)  

POLICY: Sweeping bipartisan energy legislation co-sponsored by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin stalls in the U.S. Senate, frustrating supporters. (Utility Dive)

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OIL & GAS:
• Piedmont Natural Gas holds a public meeting in eastern North Carolina about the liquefied natural gas plant it’s building. (The Robesonian)
• A rural Texas community braces for the economic impacts of another oil bust. (Texas Observer)

COMMENTARY: Virginia legislators have a chance to improve the Clean Economy Act next session to focus more on energy efficiency, an environmental group policy director writes. (NRDC)

Lyndsey Gilpin is a freelance journalist based in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She compiles the Southeast Energy News daily email digest. Lyndsey is the publisher of Southerly, a weekly newsletter about ecology, justice, and culture in the American South. She is on the board of directors for the Society of Environmental Journalists.