Georgia has a coal ash disposal problem

COAL ASH: Georgia Power faces big questions about its plan to clean up coal ash at power plants across the state — including whether the U.S. EPA will go along after it nixed a similar scheme in Alabama. (Grist/WABE)

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ALSO: North Carolina residents ask the U.S. EPA to investigate the extent of coal ash contamination in a town after extracting samples with “elevated radioactivity.” (WCNC)

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TRANSITION: West Virginia regulators consider renewing an air permit for a coal-fired power plant slated for conversion to a hydrogen-powered graphite production facility after its co-owner is sued for making false statements to receive funding. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

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UTILITIES:

• A Dominion Energy subsidiary missed a 2022 energy savings target in Virginia, which environmentalists argue means it can’t receive a $6 million performance bonus and casts doubt on the utility’s application to build new natural gas-fired power plant units. (Utility Dive)
• A Florida city council is set to vote today on whether to investigate breaking with Duke Energy to create its own energy utility. (Spectrum News)

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STORAGE: Chattanooga, Tennessee’s electric utility plans to add 36 MW of battery storage at two decommissioned substations as part of a plan to save money and add a total 150 MW of capacity to boost grid reliability. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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WIND: A company’s unsolicited request for an offshore wind lease in the Gulf of Mexico is reviving hope around the sector after federal officials previously canceled a lease auction later this year for “lack of competitive interest.” (Utility Dive)

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GRID:

• Texas lawmakers question CenterPoint’s CEO over the slow pace of power restoration in Houston after Hurricane Beryl. (KXAN)
• Dominion Energy plans a public meeting about its plans to develop new transmission infrastructure in a Virginia locality that’s seen significant data center development in recent years. (WTTG)

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OIL & GAS:

• Data shows West Virginia natural gas production has increased since the Mountain Valley Pipeline entered service earlier this summer. (S&P Global)
• February wildfires that burned more than 1.2 million acres in Texas revealed the lack of oversight over power lines built and maintained by oil and gas operators. (Texas Tribune)
• An oil company blames “operator error” for a storage tank spilling more than 34,000 gallons into a Louisiana bayou. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• A west Texas county declares a state of emergency after it’s hit with more than 100 earthquakes in a week, with many convinced the seismic activity is related to oil and gas drilling in the region. (Houston Chronicle)

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CLIMATE:

• The largest tribe in Louisiana receives $56.5 million in federal funding to implement a climate hazard mitigation and resilience plan to benefit its 19,000 members. (WWNO)
• A lawsuit against Texas over sweltering heat in state prisons uses autopsies showing at least two inmates died with core body temperatures of more than 100 degrees. (San Antonio Current)

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HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department issues $30 million toward the development of a hydrogen hub in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. (WV News)

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SOLAR: A Korean energy company sells a 260 MW solar project in Texas to another Korean company. (Renewables Now)

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POLITICS: West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s support of a sweeping climate law has benefited the state with new manufacturing and energy projects, but is still unpopular with voters and may have hastened the end of his time in Congress. (E&E News)

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COMMENTARY: A company’s proposal to mine mineral sands near the Okefenokee Swamp could disrupt the swamp’s status as a carbon sink, writes a conservationist. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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