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NOTE TO READERS: Southeast Energy News will be taking a break on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The digest will return on Tuesday, January 19.
COAL ASH:
• Regulators approve Dominion Virginia Power’s releasing water tainted by coal ash into the James and Potomac Rivers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The chair of a Virginia county government labels Dominion Virginia Power a “horrible corporate citizen” and the state water regulator “toothless.” (Prince William Today)
• The Sierra Club files an intent to sue the TVA over water contamination from coal ash stored along the Cumberland River. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• The TVA sets public hearings about ash disposal at two power plants. (WAAY-TV)
• Duke Energy demonstrates to media the progress it’s making disposing of the coal ash from the site that spoiled the Dan River in 2014. (Greensboro News & Record)
CLIMATE: Asheville, North Carolina looks to build on a trove of federal data at the National Centers for Environmental Information to become a hub for climate research and development. (Public News Service)
SOLAR:
• Solar companies in North Carolina face the reality of a market without a renewable energy tax credit. (Citizen Times)
• A bulk-purchasing co-op in Virginia has helped more than 270 property owners go solar. (Community Idea Stations)
• The size of a solar farm planned in North Carolina is dividing a community. (WNCT)
• A maker of high-efficiency solar panels in North Carolina raises more than $41 million. (Triangle Business Journal)
• The first of four K-12 schools in Virginia activates a solar teaching tool. (WVIR-TV)
LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS: A technical glitch delays the first export of natural gas from a terminal in Louisiana. (Houston Chronicle)
COAL: The Republican majority in the West Virginia legislature has few options to aid the state’s embattled coal industry. (SNL)
PIPELINES:
• Only governments would have the power to condemn private land for pipelines under a bill introduced in Kentucky. (WDRB)
• A new group emerges in Virginia to fight the proposed route for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Nelson County Times)
POWER GRIDS: The coordinator of power transmission networks for parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi prepares changes to accommodate energy storage. (RTO Insider)
NUCLEAR:
• Georgia Power’s CEO makes the industry’s case for a renaissance in new plant construction. (Augusta Chronicle)
• A company tries again to repeal a ban on mining uranium in Virginia. (WVIR-TV)
CONSERVATION: A South Carolina company is supplying bikes for Auburn University’s new bike-sharing program. (Opelika-Auburn News)
POLICY: A lawmaker wants to declare Kentucky a “sanctuary” from regulations from the EPA. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• A carbon trading program could yield rewards for Virginia. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Seismic testing is critical to informed decisions about oil and gas potential off North Carolina’s coast. (Coastal Review Online)
• The EPA may be satisfied, but many Floridians still have major issues with the planned Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline. (Orlando Sentinel)