NUCLEAR:
• Santee Cooper announced yesterday that Toshiba’s financial shakeup is expected to delay completion of a South Carolina nuclear expansion to 2020. (Charleston Post and Courier)
• Southern Co. and Scana could wind up absorbing additional costs if Westinghouse is unable to follow through with its nuclear contracts. (Bloomberg)

COAL: A federal judge says West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality has “spun its wheels” in failing to write plans to address coal pollution in streams. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

COAL ASH: A hearing is scheduled for Thursday on Dominion Virginia Power’s plan to bury nearly 1 million tons of coal ash at the company’s plant near the Potomac River. (Washington Post)

SOLAR:
• Dominion Energy is investing nearly $800 million in solar in Virginia. (Electric Light & Power)
• Officials in an Alabama city deny $3 million in tax abatements for a proposed solar project amid opposition by neighbors. (Troy Messenger)
• Community cooperatives are helping West Virginia residents install solar. (WVVA)

UTILITIES: Tennessee lawmakers introduce a bill to block the TVA from drilling into an aquifer for cooling water for a power plant. (Memphis Flyer)

CLEAN ENERGY: A bipartisan group that includes the governors of Arkansas and Virginia sends a letter to President Trump calling for more investment in renewable energy. (Greentech Media)

FRACKING:
• Florida’s Senate president has yet to weigh in on a proposed fracking ban. (WLRN)
• A Richmond city council member proposes banning fracking within city limits. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

OIL AND GAS:
• Louisiana pipeline opponents highlight a recent explosion, along with broader worker safety issues. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• A pipeline developer sues Nashville’s Metro government over ordinances aimed at blocking a proposed compressor station. (The Tennessean)
• A recent study finds seismic testing for oil offshore has a significant impact on marine life. (Coastal Review Online)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Georgia company wins a $4.4 million Department of Energy grant to develop an electric school bus. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

HYDRO: The crisis at California’s Oroville dam is drawing attention to dozens of Kentucky dams that are classified as being in poor condition. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

CLIMATE: Churches in Louisville are on the front line of fighting climate change impacts. (CityLab) 

COMMENTARY:
• A Virginia lawmaker says pumped hydro storage can help create jobs in coal country. (Roanoke Times)
• Legislation to restrict wind farms around military installations is based on a “red herring.” (Forbes)
• A North Carolina newspaper says lawmakers trying to shut down a wind farm “have landed on the wrong side of the issue.” (Tideland News)

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.