TVA stands firm amid protests over its coal ash disposal plans

COAL ASH:
• Amid mounting criticism, the TVA insists on capping ash disposal sites in place rather than transferring it to locations away from water supplies. (Associated Press, Southern Environmental Law Center)
• Scrutiny grows as Georgia weighs how to best regulate mounting coal ash from power plants. (Savannah Morning News)

VW EMISSIONS SCANDAL: The research center at West Virginia University that discovered Volkswagen’s emissions cheating struggles to pay its bills. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

NATURAL GAS:
• Experts predict more challenges to export terminals in Louisiana on environmental grounds. (Louisiana Record)
• The exporting of liquefied natural gas from terminals in Louisiana is expected to upset markets from London to Tokyo. (Bloomberg / Fuel Fix)

COAL:
• Mine operators starting today are subject to a stricter dust sample standard in a federal bid to reduce black lung disease. (Associated Press)
• The Kentucky Coal Academy hosts a job fair Wednesday to help recruit displaced miners for jobs in Alabama. (Harlan Daily Enterprise)

UTILITIES:
• The push for ​“clean coal” by Southern Co. is putting a strain on its earnings. (POWER Magazine)
• Strategic moves by Virginia Natural Gas increasingly are determined by its Atlanta-based parent company. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

POLICY: Last week’s meeting of state utility regulators in Nashville frames a new discussion on how to consider distributed energy resources. (Greentech Media)

CLIMATE: Meet some of the coastal Louisiana residents losing their communities to rising sea levels. (PBS Newshour)

STORAGE: Virginia Tech receives a $19.4 million federal grant to develop software that could advance energy storage. (Roanoke Times)

BIOMASS: The U.K. vote to leave the EU could present an opportunity for exports of compressed wood pellets made in Alabama. (Alabama Media Group)

WEST VIRGINIA: Policymakers might be able to lessen the impact of coal’s decline by leveraging other energy resources. (Beckley Register-Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• South Carolina pays the price for lagging on energy efficiency. (Southeast Energy News)
• A Virginia newspaper editorializes in favor of extending the operating license for a nuclear power plant. (Daily Press)
• Georgians should heed a commissioner’s concerns about a utility’s push for more nuclear reactors. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)
• Growing opposition to drilling off the Atlantic coast sharpens focus on data unavailable to the public. (Institute for Southern Studies)

CORRECTION: Florida-based NextEra Energy plans to by a large stake in Texas transmission operator Oncor according to Reuters, not the entire company as reported by Bloomberg and included in Friday’s digest.