COAL: TVA votes to close two coal-fired power plants, including one in Kentucky that President Trump had urged it to keep open. (NPR)
ALSO:
• State regulators allow Kentucky Power to renew a program that offers flexibility and better rates to coal companies. (Daily Energy Insider)
• Arch Coal says it plans to open a longwall mine in northern West Virginia that will employ 600 people. (Associated Press)
• A West Virginia coal mine operator agrees to pay nearly $1.5 million in back wages and damages after failing to pay workers overtime. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
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TRANSPORTATION: Advocates in Virginia push Amazon to fund bicycle and pedestrian projects as the company develops plans for its Arlington County headquarters. (Energy News Network)
RENEWABLES: Greenpeace says Amazon is wavering on its commitment to renewable energy to power its Virginia data centers. (Washington Post)
EFFICIENCY: The former coal town of Benham, Kentucky receives $200,000 for an energy efficiency program. (Lexington Herald Leader)
STORAGE: The world’s largest battery storage system could soon be storing solar for oil and gas companies in Texas. (World Oil)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Austin research company and local utility team up to test if electric vehicle batteries can provide power to the grid. (Greentech Media)
SOLAR:
• A bill that would make it less lucrative to install solar panels on homes in Kentucky goes to the House for a vote. (Lexington Herald Leader)
• A bill that would eliminate a cap on rooftop solar in South Carolina moves to the House for a vote. (The State)
• Solar employment in Georgia fell 14 percent because of stalled utility projects and trade uncertainty, according to the Solar Foundation. (Global Atlanta)
• Bank of America stadium, where the Carolina Panthers play, will soon install solar panels to power some of its operations. (Solar Power World)
WIND: New wind turbines for a project set to go online next year will bring tax revenue to three southern Oklahoma counties. (KTEN)
NUCLEAR: A 52-year-old Florida law says Disney World can build a nuclear power plant on its Orlando property. (Orlando Sentinel)
UTILITIES:
• SCE&G customers won’t get a $1,000 rebate from the utility’s new owner, Dominion Energy and may see rate increases in two years. (Post and Courier)
• The South Carolina Senate refuses to pay more for a consultant to study offers to buy utility Santee Cooper. (The State)
• Duke Energy’s CEO says buying Santee Cooper is a growth opportunity for the company. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscription)
COAL ASH: Roane County, Tennessee leaders pressure TVA to let them test for coal ash contamination at a youth sports complex that borders the site of the nation’s largest coal ash spill. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
PIPELINES:
• Mountaineer XPress Pipeline developers file a request with FERC to begin service on the remaining parts of the project by Feb. 25. (Argus Media)
• Mountain Valley Pipeline developers say the project will be completed by the end of the year despite legal setbacks. (Reuters)
• More requests for waivers from steel tariffs have come from Texas than any other state, largely because of pipeline and oil companies. (Houston Chronicle)
OIL & GAS: A planned liquefied natural gas facility near Brownsville, Texas could pose a risk to Texas ocelots. (KUT)