COAL: Appalachian Power may close two West Virginia coal-fired power plants in 2028 if Virginia regulators reject its request to spend $250 million to bring them into compliance with federal environmental rules. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

ALSO:
• Spilled coal from a derailed train remains in a canal by the James River as the railroad waits to hire a contractor to remove it. (WRIC)
• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice demands media back off questions about tax liens against his family and businesses that stem from a loan guarantee for the company that oversees his coal and agricultural interests. (Weirton Daily Times)

WIND:
• A subsidiary of Duke Energy begins operations at its ninth Texas wind farm. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• The company behind a proposed wind farm in western Virginia considers its options after a county unexpectedly invalidates a key permit. (WDBJ)

SOLAR:
• Developers of a Texas neighborhood near Austin say that every home will come equipped with Tesla’s solar roof tiles and battery storage. (Quartz)
• Virginia residents express concerns and question officials from a company proposing a 150 MW solar farm. (Smithfield Times)
• An Arkansas school district announces completion of a solar array that’s part of a larger 2.7 MW, multi-industry project, as well as plans for a second array. (Washington County Enterprise-Leader)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Fourteen utilities along the East Coast and Southeast have joined a coalition to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations from southern Maine to Florida and west to Texas. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Georgia leaders used an array of grants, tax reductions, squishy performance goals and other incentives to lure an electric vehicle battery maker and other large employers, raising questions about transparency. (Athens Banner-Herald)

GRID:
• The Tennessee Valley Authority predicts this week’s hot weather will push electric demand close to past peaks but still below the utility’s generation capacity. (WPLN)
• A Tennessee utility accepts a bid for a new electric substation expected to be built by next spring. (Paris Post-Intelligencer, subscription)

PIPELINES:
• Virginia regulators’ consideration of a key permit for a compressor station on the Mountain Valley Pipeline in a low-income and majority Black area could have broad ramifications for how environmental justice factors into regulatory decisions. (National Law Review)
• A company that makes lubricants, oils and other products for pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure will consolidate several sites into one location in Louisiana. (The Advocate)

OVERSIGHT: A West Virginia congress member is among the Republicans grilling a federal regulator about how much greenhouse gases will factor into a commission’s consideration of pipelines and other natural gas projects. (S&P Global)

EMISSIONS:
• A lawsuit led by Louisiana’s attorney general with nine other states seeks to block President Joe Biden’s plans to increase the social cost of carbon, which assigns a dollar value to the harm caused by emitting greenhouse gases. (E&E News, subscription)
• The 2020 debut of a New Orleans natural gas-fired plant alongside Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions shows how complex the transition away from fossil fuels still remains. (E&E News, subscription)
• A new study says Georgia could cut its carbon emissions in half by 2030 using tools and technologies that are already available. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY: The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s purchase of $150 million carbon offsets doesn’t come close to mitigating its negative effects, writes a retired environmental regulator. (Virginia Mercury)

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.