Will Kentucky go nuclear?

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Will Kentucky go nuclear? Startup The Nuclear Co. proposes building six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors along the Ohio River in Kentucky. The nuclear campus could generate 6.6 GW of power — nearly as much electricity as Kentucky’s largest utility produces across its entire generation fleet. (Kentucky Lantern)

Virginia gas plant progress: Cumberland County, Virginia, supervisors voted last week to approve Dominion Energy’s 3-GW natural gas plant, which will become one of the biggest in the nation if it receives further state approval and is built. But residents, as well as one supervisor who voted against the permit, still have concerns about where the plant will get the massive amount of water it needs. (Virginia Mercury)

Methane regulations revised: President Donald Trump announced at a Texas campaign rally last night that the EPA is proposing to weaken regulations governing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The rules will have profound implications for the Permian Basin’s tens of thousands of oil and gas wells. (Associated Press, Inside Climate News)

Clean eating: Induction stoves are a healthier, less polluting option than gas ranges, but their higher costs often keep buyers from making the switch. A new program aims to address that by offering residents in parts of North Carolina and Georgia induction ranges at a discounted bulk price. The stoves, from startup Electra, help avoid another major cost: They include batteries that allow homeowners to avoid expensive outlet voltage upgrades. (Canary Media)

Ford goes bidirectional: Ford has announced that its forthcoming electric pickup truck will be able to double as a home backup battery without the need for pricey power-conversion tech usually required for bidirectional charging. The Fathom is the first model that’ll be produced on Ford’s Universal EV Platform, a new EV production line at the automaker’s retooled Louisville, Kentucky, factory. (Canary Media)

Pumping up iron: This Friday, U.S. Steel will start construction of a direct reduced iron facility at its Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas. The project will be the first of its kind in the U.S., producing iron that the company can turn into steel in electric arc furnaces. (Arkansas Online)

Cleaning up coal: Georgia Power brings online a 57-MW battery storage system at the site of a former coal plant in Floyd County. The array is putting the shuttered Plant Hammond’s transmission lines to use to charge its Tesla batteries and distribute their energy back to the grid. (WRDW)

Data center disclosure: Alabama utility regulators establish new rules requiring that large-load data centers pay the complete cost of fulfilling their energy needs, and that regulators receive full, unredacted contracts between Alabama Power and data center developers. Consumer advocates are pushing for more, arguing those unredacted numbers need to be disclosed publicly, too. (Inside Climate News)

Questioning Google’s solar deal: Arkansas regulators say Entergy customers in the state will face $308 million in unnecessary costs under the utility’s deal with Google for a solar and battery storage plant. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

A tale of two transmission fights: In Jefferson County, West Virginia, residents are fighting the 260-mile Valley North transmission line. And in Alabama, homeowner Fenn Church has been embroiled in a months-long legal fight with Alabama Power over its attempt to build a transmission line through his property. (West Virginia Watch, Inside Climate News)