TRANSITION: Political support for coal in West Virginia begins to fracture as blocs of state lawmakers support nuclear power, iron-air battery storage and clean energy startups. (American Prospect)

ALSO:
• A coalition of Louisiana companies aims to boost offshore wind and hydrogen initiatives while preserving oil and gas production jobs in the Gulf of Mexico. (WDSU)
• A survey finds large majorities of Texans favor reliance on solar, geothermal and wind energy, while 42% want to see more nuclear and natural gas plants. (KUT)

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COAL ASH: A settlement between environmental groups and the U.S. EPA in a lawsuit involving coal plants in Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana could impose regulations on hundreds of coal ash sites nationwide that are not covered by 2015 federal coal ash rules. (Energy News Network)

WIND: A spike in large whale deaths along the East Coast could imperil federal approvals for Dominion Energy’s massive wind-energy project off the coast of Virginia. (Bay Journal)

SOLAR:
• West Virginia solar advocates push state lawmakers to pass a community solar bill that has yet to get a hearing. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Dominion Energy schedules an open house for its planned solar project on 1,300 acres in southern Virginia. (Chatham Star-Tribune)
• An energy developer acquires two Florida solar farms from a subsidiary of Dominion Energy. (Solar Builder)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicle advocates cheer Georgia legislation to change billing at charging stations from amount of time to power used, but jeer new taxes since they already pay a $211 annual fee. (WABE)
• Electric vehicle maker Rivian increases its quarterly revenue but continues to see net losses as it ramps up production and prepares to build a $5 billion Georgia factory. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear oil companies’ appeal of a Louisiana ruling in a lawsuit over coastal damage, clearing the way for 42 similar suits filed against oil and gas companies. (NOLA.com)
• An oil company announces it has acquired and will restart production at numerous shut-in wells in Oklahoma and Kansas. (Journal Record)
• Louisiana gets a boost in its efforts to increase royalty rates from offshore energy production from U.S. House Republicans’ energy package. (NOLA.com)

HYDROGEN: A company with plans to make hydrogen considers developing a Louisiana production facility to make “blue” ammonia and ship it to South Korea. (The Advocate)

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COAL:
• Miners and labor experts see the conclusion of a 23-month Alabama coal strike without a contract as a loss for the miners’ union. (NPR)
• A study finds Central Appalachian coal miners are more than eight times more likely than men in the general population to die from respiratory diseases. (Virginia Mercury)
• The day after a coal miner’s death, West Virginia lawmakers pass a bill to cap some of the damages workers and their families receive if their employer deliberately puts them in harm’s way. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: A former Tennessee city policy officer cites regulatory challenges in building a new transit center as evidence federal officials must simplify rules to build electric vehicle chargers and other infrastructure. (Knoxville News Sentinel) 

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Mason Adams

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.