ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The U.S. EPA dropped its civil rights investigation into petrochemical development near largely Black communities in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” because it couldn’t wrap it up ahead of a deadline. (NPR)

SOLAR: 

STORAGE: Some Oklahoma residents express worries about a 200 MW battery storage facility NextEra is building along with a solar project near an existing wind farm. (Enid News & Eagle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

OIL & GAS: 

COAL ASH: Georgia Power announces a plan to open a facility at a former coal-fired power plant to process coal ash stored on-site and market it for other uses. (Capitol Beat News Service)

COAL: The head of West Virginia’s coal association thanks state lawmakers for “all the pro-coal legislation and policies” passed over the last few years, but warns of challenges for the industry as more coal-fired power plants close. (Independent Herald)

NUCLEAR: A Virginia study identifies seven sites across four southwestern counties as possible locations to build a small modular nuclear reactor. (Cardinal News)

GRID: 

ACTIVISM: An Appalachian environmental group brings together representatives from West Virginia nonprofits to discuss how to track industrial development and opportunities for clean energy-related businesses. (Weirton Daily Times)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy asks Florida regulators to pass $91.9 million in costs from Hurricane Idalia on to its customers. (Tampa Bay Times)

COMMENTARY: The potential for the electric vehicle transition to result in sustainable manufacturing jobs that pay a living wage hinges on the success of the United Auto Workers’ strike in Kentucky and beyond, writes an analyst. (Louisville Courier Journal)

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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.