COAL: Kentucky residents worry that bankrupt coal operator Blackjewel may abandon many of its unreclaimed surface mines, leaving a massive environmental mess for taxpayers and communities. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
ALSO: A new report says the cost of reclaiming nearly half a million billion acres of mined land in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee may amount to $6 billion — more than twice than the $2.5 billion available in bonds for cleanup. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
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POLITICS:
• A coalition of 20 advocacy groups press Virginia lawmakers to build on last year’s sweeping Clean Economy Act by directing automakers to deliver more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. (Energy News Network)
• West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, likely to be chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, emerges as a possible check on Democratic efforts to advance carbon-free policies. (Washington Examiner)
OIL & GAS: Entergy begins commercial operations at a two-unit, 993 MW natural gas plant in Texas. (Power Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Hitachi announces a new factory in Kentucky to make motors for electric vehicles. (The Lane Report)
SOLAR:
• A Tennessee-based construction company announces it will build a 100 MW solar facility in Georgia. (Solar Power World)
• Two electric utilities in Kansas and Missouri add new solar operations. (Joplin Globe)
NUCLEAR: Despite a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and production delays at Plant Vogtle, Georgia Power still expects to put the two new nuclear units in commercial operation by November. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
WIND: Wind farms in Oklahoma and on the Texas-New Mexico line are among 15 farms in 12 states — with a collective capacity of 2.5 GW — that began operations around the new year. (Windpower Monthly)
COAL ASH: Georgia Power prepares to begin removing more than 2 million tons of coal ash by draining ponds and releasing treated water from a decommissioned power plant. (Albany Herald)
GRID: The Tennessee Valley Authority seeks public input on a transmission upgrade in northeastern Tennessee. (WJHL)
UTILITIES: A new lawsuit by General Electric accuses Siemens Energy of benefiting from trade secrets it improperly received from a Dominion Energy employee in 2019, when GE & Siemens both bid on gas turbine equipment and servicing for Dominion. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY:
• An Oklahoma business writer recounts the state’s history with the oil, natural gas and renewable energy industries, arguing that consumers and markets ultimately control the future of energy production. (The Oklahoman)
• A Texas lawmaker’s proposed annual fee for electric and hybrid vehicles would supplement gas tax revenues to fund maintenance of state roads, write a pair of state planning and economics professors. (San Antonio Express-News)