COAL: A new report finds the cost of reclaiming 633,000 acres of Appalachian coal mines closed or idled since 1977 will likely cost more than twice the $3.8 billion in available bonds set aside for reclamation. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

ALSO: The Tennessee Valley Authority will invest $500 million to add three more natural gas turbines to a former coal-fired power plant in Kentucky. (WEHT)

RENEWABLES: Rising costs are expected to dampen the use of natural gas-fired power in Texas, which could make renewable energy the state’s leading electricity source over the final quarter of 2021. (Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR:
• Kentucky regulators defer a decision on a net metering tariff for rooftop solar while approving a settlement negotiated by Kentucky Utilities for a rate increase. (WKYT)
• A Louisiana parish considers enacting newly proposed solar farm regulations and ending its moratorium on solar development. (Daily Star)
• A Florida county commission votes to deny a solar farm after nearby residents complain there had not been enough community outreach and that developers targeted the site because it’s in a largely Black neighborhood. (Gainesville Sun)
• State regulators approve Georgia Power’s plans to buy 970 MW of solar power from five other utilities through power-purchasing agreements. (Capitol Beat News Service/Albany Herald)

PIPELINES:
• The cancellation of the Byhalia Connection pipeline in Memphis came after months of community organization and protest that signal a larger battle for environmental justice for the city’s Black communities. (Grist)
• The Memphis city council continues considering ways to protect the city’s drinking water even after the Byhalia pipeline is cancelled. (Tennessee Lookout)

GRID: A new report shows that Texas’ grid manager has seen 1,280 unplanned power outages so far this summer, as well as at least 220 generators that were offline in June when it called for conservation measures. (Newsweek, KTRK)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A specialized electric vehicle manufacturer expands its manufacturing operations in South Carolina. (WHNS)
• Virginia adds the location of electric vehicle chargers to its state-operated traffic alert website and app. (WCAV)

WIND: Federal officials announce the beginning of a review process for Dominion Energy’s offshore wind project to install 200 turbines off Virginia’s coast. (Associated Press)

NUCLEAR: A Tennessee facility sends its 100th shipment of nuclear waste to a New Mexico plant since it reopened in 2017 after a three-year pause. (Carlsbad Current Argus)

COMMENTARY:
• Duke Energy’s implosion of two coal-burning plants and new construction on a solar plant in Florida graphically illustrate the changes in electricity generation taking place across the country, writes an editorial board. (Citrus County Chronicle)
• Congress should accelerate the growth of solar power in the Southeast by passing a federal commitment to 100% clean energy by 2035, writes a solar advocate. (Orlando Sentinel)

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Mason Adams

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.