BIOMASS: A controversial wood pellet plant proposed in eastern North Carolina could create a hotspot of pollution in Native American communities. (NC Policy Watch) 

COAL ASH: Georgia county commissioners approve over $200,000 to hire an engineering firm to look at building more water lines around a coal-fired power plant, but residents still say they want the coal ash cleaned up. (Albany Herald)

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COAL: A federal judge in Kentucky orders coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to pay more than $1 million in fees in a lawsuit accusing them of defaulting on a mining contract. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:
• Hurricane flooding in the Southeast and other natural disasters have taught electric utilities they need to invest billions in resilience, but it is still not clear what’s the best use of ratepayers’ money. (Utility Dive)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority is expected to announce soon whether it has approved the merger of a Memphis utility and electric cooperative. (Murfreesboro Post)

SOLAR:
• A new bill in West Virginia could expand solar energy in the state, energy experts say, but the state also needs renewable portfolio standards. (WV News)
• A major solar project to power county buildings in northwest Arkansas nears completion. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

EFFICIENCY: Entergy and New Orleans officials distribute energy efficiency kits to residents to help them save money on bills during the pandemic. (WDSU)

OIL & GAS: Exxon Mobil modifies manufacturing operations in Louisiana to produce hand sanitizer since the oil market has crashed. (Dallas Business Journal, subscription)

PIPELINES: Mountain Valley Pipeline developers say they are still targeting a completion date of late this year despite the suspension of an Army Corps permitting program. (Roanoke Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A coalition of advocacy groups says Virginia should stop consideration of new fossil fuel infrastructure permits during the pandemic. (Virginia Mercury)
• North Carolina and Virginia recently took bold action to reject biomass for electricity as a clean energy source — a move that is long overdue, according to a scientist. (NRDC)

Lyndsey Gilpin is a freelance journalist based in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She compiles the Southeast Energy News daily email digest. Lyndsey is the publisher of Southerly, a weekly newsletter about ecology, justice, and culture in the American South. She is on the board of directors for the Society of Environmental Journalists.