OIL & GAS: The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to replace its retiring coal plants with more than $3.5 billion in new gas-fired power plants, running counter to President Biden’s goal of shifting from fossil fuels. (New York Times)

ALSO: A company cancels plans to build a natural gas plant in Virginia amid regulatory setbacks and strong local opposition. (Virginia Mercury, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

PIPELINES: A jury awards a Virginia family most of what it sought in compensation for a right of way the Mountain Valley Pipeline claimed through eminent domain — though family members still say they’d rather not have the pipeline at all. (Roanoke Times)

SOLAR:
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds the power to decide the fate of legislation to change net-metering in ways opponents say will decimate the state’s burgeoning rooftop solar industry. (Inside Climate News)
• The board at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville approves a deal to power part of campus with an 8.7 MW solar facility. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• A Tennessee company builds a 70 MW solar farm to provide power for 38 Georgia electric cooperatives. (Solar Power World)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• It’s unclear how many people are using a pair of fast chargers in a North Carolina town even as the number of registered electric and hybrid vehicles in that county doubled in the past year. (New Bern Sun Journal)
• Arkansas energy companies say people who install electric vehicle chargers at home do not pay significantly higher electric bills. (KTHV)
• Florida and Virginia lead the Southeast in commitments to electric school buses, while other states in the region fall far behind. (Canary Media)

STORAGE: An energy startup announces it will build an electric battery factory in West Virginia and work with a union to train and employ former coal miners. (Associated Press)

COAL: A West Virginia county scrambles to find a buyer after an energy company announces it won’t operate a coal-fired power plant, in hopes they’ll continue operation or convert it to a green hydrogen facility. (WTAP)

EMISSIONS: Advocates of Virginia’s participation in a regional carbon market say a report that Gov. Glenn Youngkin touts as reason to withdraw actually demonstrates the key role it plays in reducing carbon emissions. (Virginia Mercury, WAVY)

POLLUTION: The EPA adds sites in Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia to its Superfund National Priorities List for cleanup at areas that pose significant threats to human health and the environment. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY:
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should veto a Florida Power & Light-backed bill to phase out billing credits for rooftop solar customers, writes an editorial board. (Tampa Bay Times)
• An editorial board calls for a buyer to step forward to keep a West Virginia coal-fired power plant open after its owner decides to sell or close it. (Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

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.