NUCLEAR: Toshiba is considering selling its Westinghouse nuclear division after receiving an extension to files its earnings. Meanwhile, the CEO of the Charlotte-based Toshiba America Energy Systems has been replaced. (Reuters, Charlotte Business Journal)

ALSO: Despite President Donald Trump’s promises of revival, Kentucky’s lawmakers are acknowledging a need for alternatives to the state’s coal industry as they move closer to lifting a moratorium on nuclear energy. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES:
• “The game has changed” for oil pipeline construction in Georgia and South Carolina as Republican-backed bills introduce tighter regulations for construction. (Southeast Energy News)
• All three Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia now oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Blue Virginia)
• Alabama manufacturers support President Donald Trump’s call for pipelines to use U.S. steel. (AL.com)

OIL & GAS: West Virginia lawmakers scale back a proposal to exempt tanks used by the oil and gas industry from a recent safety law. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

COAL ASH:
• An environmental group said Monday that it will sue Duke Energy for allegedly polluting a lake and two river basins with coal ash from a North Carolina power plant. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Residents were able to review and respond to a plan for excavating what remains of a Duke Energy coal ash site in North Carolina at a public hearing on Monday. (WLOS)

GRID: Duke Energy is updating a South Carolina dam with an eye toward using it for energy storage. (WFAE)

SOLAR: A Georgia utility’s $39/month charge for solar customers helped prompt a Republican-backed bill to require more transparency in how such fees are set. (PV Magazine)

UTILITIES: Public meetings are planned to discuss rate-increase requests for two Kentucky utilities to install smart meters. (Kentucky Press News Service)

COMMENTARY:
• A former Virginia lawmaker says with a new presidential administration, now is the time to revisit the state’s offshore oil exploration options. (Roanoke Times)
• A North Carolina nonprofit says ending fracking’s methane releases is crucial to averting a climate crisis. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Solar power represents a “new source of prosperity” for West Virginia. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.