Coal ash concerns loom ahead of Tennessee plant closure

COAL ASH: The Tennessee community near the Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal-fired Bull Run plant worry about its pending closure, from its effect on grid reliability to how the utility will address decades of toxic coal ash at the site. (Tennessee Lookout)

ALSO: The U.S. EPA’s determination that coal ash can significantly increase risks of cancer raises concerns in Alabama not just over continued storage of coal ash in unlined pits, but about its ​“beneficial uses” in structural fill and in residential areas. (Inside Climate News)

OVERSIGHT:

• A Virginia legislative committee interviews and nominates two lawyers to fill two vacancies on the state’s powerful regulatory board. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press)
• The former director of Texas’ utility board is sworn in as its new chair of the commission. (KXAN)
• A former Alabama regulator who shook up the state board by calling for more scrutiny of Alabama Power has unexpectedly died. (AL.com)

EFFICIENCY: Memphis advocates lean into weatherization to help residents lower energy costs while also reducing their power usage at a time when the grid is increasingly tested by climate change and record demand. (Tennessee Lookout)

EMISSIONS: A Louisiana appeals court reverses a lower court decision on air permits, reviving a plastics company’s plan to build a $9.4 billion complex in Cancer Alley. (Grist)

SOLAR:

• A developer delays its application for a 44 MW solar farm in Virginia to address issues raised by county staff. (Smithfield Times)
• El Paso, Texas’ public utility announces a 10 MW solar facility to expand its community solar program. (KTSM)

WIND: West Virginia lawmakers advance legislation to raise taxes on wind turbines. (WV News)

OIL & GAS:

• The Permian Basin emerged in 2023 as ​“a juggernaut for deals” as companies within the upstream oil and gas sector consolidate at a record pace. (Business Insider)
• Climate activists protest a New Orleans conference where policymakers meet with representatives from the hydrogen and oil and gas industry. (DeSmog)
• The Dallas City Council considers an escalating settlement for a refund never granted for payment on gas well drilling leases that were never approved after the city implemented new drilling restrictions. (KXAS)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A charitable nonprofit launches a four-week program to train workers for the electric vehicle industry in Georgia. (WXIA)
• A Louisiana parish approves its part of an $80 million incentive to lure a Japanese company that makes chemical solvents for electric vehicle batteries. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• West Virginia transportation officials discuss a $46 million plan to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state. (WV Metro News)

GRID:

• As temperatures in the Southeast warm after a weeklong Arctic blast, the Tennessee Valley Authority says its grid remained largely stable due to improvements. (WHNT)
• An Arkansas city board considers requiring utility lines be routed underground for most new developments. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• A Texas meteorologist concludes recent light snowfall near Austin was caused not by a ​“lake effect” but water vapor produced by a nearby power plant. (KUT)

TRANSPORTATION: West Virginia lawmakers consider legislation to identify potential industrial and advanced energy sites along a new highway. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)

COMMENTARY:

• The development of more renewables can further boost the grid to avoid tragedies like Texas’ cold spell in 2021, writes the director of the Sierra Club. (Sierra)

An energy lawyer identifies clean energy projects across Kentucky that have benefitted from the federal climate package. (Renewable Energy World)