PIPELINES: A Black leader in Virginia’s coastal region says his involvement in an advisory board is being misrepresented as outright support for a proposed pipeline — an example of how energy companies seek to diminish opposition for fossil fuel projects in vulnerable communities. (Guardian)

HURRICANE IAN:
• Many Floridians with flood-damaged homes and property don’t have flood insurance, especially inland. (CBS News, CNN)
• More than 46,000 Floridians remain without power after Hurricane Ian, most of them subscribers of one electric cooperative. (Florida Politics)
• Hurricane Ian knocked out power to 2.7 million customers in Florida compared to Hurricane Ida’s 1 million in Louisiana last year, but restoration has moved much more quickly in Florida due to previous grid hardening. (NOLA.com)
• Even after Hurricane Ian’s massive damages, many Floridians commit to rebuilding instead of relocating to areas perceived to be less vulnerable to catastrophic storms. (Associated Press; South Florida Sun-Sentinel, subscription)

SOLAR:
• Arkansas regulators consider extending the state’s “grandfathering” provisions to lock in rates for solar systems, which advocates say will guarantee a stable price and unleash more than a billion dollars’ worth of solar projects. (Arkansas Business, subscription)
• Tennessee customers of a defunct solar company complain about incomplete or incorrect installations. (WSMV)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Florida’s CFO and state fire marshal warns federal officials that electric vehicles’ lithium batteries can ignite when inundated with salty storm surges. (Florida Politics)

OIL & GAS:
• Federal officials post environmental notices to move forward with previously canceled Gulf of Mexico offshore lease sales that were reinvigorated by passage of federal climate legislation. (Washington Examiner)
• The nation’s largest gas well owner argues an agreement with West Virginia regulators absolves it of the need to plug and abandon oil and gas wells. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• The appointment of a new CEO of Memphis, Tennessee’s municipal utility injects new uncertainty into the question of whether the city will renew a long-term contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority as its power provider. (Commercial Appeal)
• Appalachian Power seeks rate increases in both West Virginia and Virginia, but in Virginia it’s telling ratepayers they’ll save money as the utility shifts to more renewables. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

CLIMATE: Heavier rainfall and aging infrastructure along the Mississippi River press its neighbors to consider moving to higher ground. (Daily Memphian, subscription)

HYDROELECTRIC: Dominion Energy still hasn’t decided whether to follow through with a $2 billion pumped storage hydroelectric project in southwestern Virginia, and some residents worry the utility may pursue a wind farm there instead. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

COAL: A former energy executive pleads guilty to lying about West Virginia coal he used to secure a loan. (WV Metro News)

COMMENTARY:
• Dominion Energy’s insistence on shirking a performance guarantee on its planned offshore wind farm exposes the utility’s commitment to investors over ratepayers, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)
• Preparing Virginia for the shift to electric vehicles will create jobs and ensure the state is on the leading edge of change, write two state lawmakers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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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.