What to do with the Southeast’s shuttered coal plants?

COAL: Appalachian Power considers what to do with the site of a Virginia coal-fired power plant that was shuttered in 2014, and whether it can transport accumulated coal ash there to a West Virginia landfill. (WVTF)

ALSO: Georgia Power presses to keep two coal-fired power plants open a decade longer than planned, despite one’s ranking in a recent study as the second most deadly polluter among U.S. coal plants. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)

STORAGE: Duke Energy disconnects large, Chinese-made batteries at a Marine Corps base in North Carolina after officials express security concerns about the manufacturer’s ties to China’s Communist Party. (Reuters)

SOLAR:

• North Carolina ranks fourth in the country for solar capacity but is expected to fall to 28th over the next five years due to net-metering changes and utilities considering other power sources. (WRAL)
• A nonprofit operates a co-op to allow residents of Richmond, Virginia, to purchase and install solar panels at a discounted group rate. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

EFFICIENCY: Louisiana regulators prepare to vote on long-awaited energy efficiency rules to require utilities to implement various power-saving measures and technologies. (Louisiana Illuminator)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• More than 1,000 employees at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant that makes electric and gas-powered vehicles have already signed cards to authorize a vote on whether to be represented by the United Auto Workers. (Associated Press)
• A company considers reviving a historic North Carolina lithium mine, including draining and filtering the lake that’s formed there since it closed. (Charlotte Observer)

OIL & GAS:

• A North Carolina county board rezones land for a​Dominion Energy liquefied natural gas storage site despite opposition from dozens of residents. (Charlotte Observer)
• ExxonMobil delays the projected start of its Texas liquified natural gas terminal under construction to 2025. (S&P Global)
• Mexico blocks imports of U.S. gasoline as drug cartels increasingly steal fuel, including forcing gas tanker trucks to dump their loads in a border town. (Border Report)

NUCLEAR:

• U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm backs the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to build up to four small modular nuclear reactors at a Tennessee site, citing a global commitment to triple nuclear power by 2030. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear reactors all receive ​“exemplary” ratings for the first time. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

GRID: A Democrat and a Republican newly elected to the Virginia legislature join a coalition to announce a new state advocacy group that will push for stronger oversight of the state’s booming data center industry. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

CLIMATE: Florida struggles to deal with dramatically varying amounts of rainfall, from record deluges on its southeast coast to a drought along the Gulf Coast. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES: A columnist explains the confusing methodology behind how utilities pay North Carolina property taxes. (Asheville Watchdog)

COMMENTARY:

• Kentucky Power should aggressively develop energy saving programs to lower customers’ bills and reduce power demand, writes a community advocate. (Kentucky Lantern)
• West Virginia should use federal funding to supercharge its approach to monitoring and capping abandoned oil and gas wells, writes a policy analyst. (West Virginia Watch)