COAL ASH: Anderson County, Tennessee, officials pass two measures to help them gain access to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant so they can independently test samples of coal ash waste. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

COAL:
• West Virginia residents and conservation groups tell environmental regulators they’re worried about water pollution if a coal company is allowed to begin operating a former mine again. (WVPB)
• West Virginia regulators begin an investigation into contamination from coal mining in Fayette County’s drinking water system almost a year after residents requested it. (WVPB) 

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EFFICIENCY: A new TVA-funded initiative in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area will expand the number of minority-owned contractors certified to perform energy upgrades. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

SOLAR:
• Entergy Louisiana will purchase power from a new 500-acre solar farm in Baton Rouge, adding 50 MW of solar to its portfolio. (The West Side Journal)
• An Oklahoma natural gas company will install solar at several of its plants across the Southeast to help power operations. (Oklahoman)
• The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association calls regulators’ decision to uphold its net metering policy “a clear economic winner.” (Arkansas Business)

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OIL & GAS:
• A Houma, Louisiana, offshore oil and gas company lays off 105 workers due to the economic downturn. (The Advocate)
• The natural gas supply from Oklahoma to the Upper Midwest has dropped significantly over the last month. (S&P Global)
• About 23% of oil and gas production from the Gulf of Mexico is still offline after Tropical Storm Cristobal. (S&P Global)
• Florida is one of nine states where peaker power plants have the greatest potential to be replaced by clean energy alternatives, according to a nonprofit’s recent report. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an essential bill into law that will expand the state’s electric vehicle infrastructure, a clean energy group says. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• There is a clear divide among Florida utilities on energy efficiency goals and programs that would help customers save money, a clean energy group says. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)