COAL: American Electric Power says it will close a Texas coal-fired power plant by 2023 and stop using coal in another plant by 2028, removing a total of 1,633 MW of coal-fired power as part of a larger shift from the fuel. (Columbus Dispatch, Longview News-Journal)

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ELECTIONS:
• Former Massey CEO and Constitution Party presidential nominee Don Blankenship won more than 7,000 votes in North Carolina, a swing state so closely divided that his tally may affect the final outcome. (E&E News)
• Legal experts discuss what election results could mean for the environmental and energy policy in North Carolina. (NC Policy Watch)

UTILITIES:
• Duke Energy focuses its near-term capital investment on decarbonizing its fleet, including redirecting $2 billion for the cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline into clean energy and grid improvements. (Greentech Media)
• Duke Energy officials discuss coal ash costs and possible regulatory reform in North Carolina that could open the door for more grid upgrades. (Charlotte Business Journal)

PIPELINES: Mountain Valley Pipeline crews resume construction on some of the steepest terrain in the project’s 303-mile path through the mountains of western Virginia. (Roanoke Times)

OIL & GAS:
• Louisiana voters overwhelmingly reject a ballot measure that would have allowed manufacturers and natural gas facilities to negotiate lower taxes with localities. (The Advocate)
• Shell confirms that it will close a Louisiana oil refinery after failing to find a buyer. (The Advocate)
• Houston oil and gas companies resume production amid stabilized oil prices but may not fully recover from the pandemic’s economic downturn until 2023. (Beaumont Enterprise)
• A Texas city temporarily shuts down its natural gas system after a malfunction on a main transmission line. (KABB)

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CLIMATE: Five Florida environmental groups will hold an online public meeting Monday to discuss progress on climate recommendations for the city of Pensacola that were initially released in 2018. (Pensacola News Journal)

REGULATION: The Trump administration has replaced Neil Chatterjee, a Kentuckian with close ties to the coal industry, as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, perhaps because of his support for clean energy and addressing climate change. (Washington Examiner)

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.