UTILITIES: The TVA grapples with the possibility of declining demand for electricity across its seven-state territory due largely to improving energy efficiency and onsite solar systems. (Times Free Press)

COAL ASH:
• A long-awaited report outlines the challenges and lack of incentives for recycling coal ash in North Carolina. (Southeast Energy News)
• An environmental group in North Carolina invites public input about coal ash and other issues at its annual meeting this Saturday in Statesville. (Salisbury Post)

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CLEAN POWER PLAN: A national environmental group updates states’ compliance plans, including how Arkansas already has reached its targeted reductions. (Environmental Defense Fund)

SOLAR:
• The growth of solar energy in North Carolina is expected to slow when new installations are tallied for 2016. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• An Ikea store is expected to have the largest rooftop solar system in Tennessee when it opens this fall. (Memphis Business Journal)
• A rural electric co-op celebrates the first community solar farm in South Carolina. (Greenville Online)
• Here’s how a commercial installer in North Carolina navigated the array of choices for inverters. (Greentech Media)

NUCLEAR:
• The TVA says it needs to rebuild the switch yard at its Watts Bar plant to bring its new Unit 2 reactor online after a fire there Aug. 30. (Electric Light & Power)
• Reactors are helping drive down utilities’ carbon emissions but the costs to build new ones pose significant challenges. (EnergyWire)
• A new lab coming to Virginia Tech will help engineers develop and test data on fluid dynamics for reactors. (Augusta Free Press)

RENEWABLES: Solar and other forms of cleaner energy are projected to supply 2 percent of Florida’s demand for electricity by 2025. (Florida Politics)

EFFICIENCY:
• North Carolina-based Cree looks to boost its LED business with a new line of bulbs, some expected to last up to 32 years. (Triangle Business Journal)
• A homebuilder breaks ground on energy efficient homes in the Charlotte area powered in part by solar panels. (Charlotte Business Journal)

NATURAL GAS: West Virginia University and Kansas University begin a joint research effort to identify how to better manage wastewater used in drilling. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

PIPELINES: A pipeline that ships gasoline from the Gulf Coast to central North Carolina shuts down after a 1,000-barrel spill in Alabama. (Bloomberg)

GRID: Experts in the PJM power grid struggle to determine why this year’s cooling season did not push power demand higher that either of the three previous summers. (Platts)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Here’s how an EV enthusiast in Sarasota, Florida is enjoying National Drive Electric Week. (CleanTechnica)

COMMENTARY:
• Florida’s solar Amendment 1 is a “Trojan Horse” that will undermine the growth of solar energy in Florida. (Orlando Sentinel)
• Virginia gained about as much solar energy in 2015 as North Carolina installs in one week. (Power for the People VA blog)