PIPELINES: West Virginia regulators rewrite state environmental rules for a second time to facilitate construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline after a federal court ruling freezes its permit to cross waterways. (Mountain State Spotlight/ProPublica)

ALSO: Kinder Morgan Inc.’s 430-mile Permian Highway Pipeline across Texas goes into operation, and is expected to be fully in service by early 2021. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

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OIL & GAS:
• A central Texas oil producer begins drilling its first well in 10 months, after a tumultuous year marked by corporate upheaval and stakeholder concerns. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• A fifth worker has died from injuries stemming from an August explosion when a barge struck a gas pipeline near Corpus Christi, Texas. (KIII)
• A West Virginia county will consider an option to buy property at the site of a proposed natural gas power plant, even as the company has canceled plans for another plant. (Exponent Telegram)
• Two oil and gas advocacy associations in West Virginia merge to become the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia. (WV MetroNews)

RENEWABLES: Nashville updates its building codes and energy standards and announces a partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Vanderbilt University to build 100 MW of solar generation as part of a tilt toward clean energy. (Nashville Scene)

WIND: A marketing video produced by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy aims to attract entrepreneurs and workers to the offshore wind industry. (Renews)

SOLAR:
• A solar developer proposes a three-part, 280 MW solar facility on 2,697 acres in western Virginia. (Southwest Times)
• Texas county commissioners consider a tax abatement for a 300 MW solar project, but hold off on taking any action for now. (Brownwood Bulletin)

UTILITIES:
• Lafayette, Louisiana’s city-owned utility seeks a source of solar energy as it prepares to retire a coal-fired plant that currently provides nearly half of its power. (The Daily Advertiser)
• Consumer advocates question the necessity of a requested 12% increase in electricity rates and 9% increase in gas rates by Louisville Gas & Electric. (WLKY)
• Alabama regulators reverse course and will livestream this morning’s meeting on Alabama Power’s electricity rates and environmental compliance costs. (AL.com)

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COAL: Chinese steel mills are looking to U.S. metallurgical coal, including from West Virginia, after they were told to stop importing Australian coal. (Argus Media)

COMMENTARY:
• A South Carolina newspaper publisher calls for sweeping action by state lawmakers to close coal plants, reduce pollution, protect land and engage on climate change. (Charleston City Paper)
• A retired healthcare executive praises Virginia regulators for denying a rate increase to Appalachian Power. (Roanoke Times)

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.