COAL: The coronavirus pandemic is speeding the coal industry’s collapse as mines shut down, lay off workers, and slow production. (Allegheny Front)
ALSO:
• As the coal industry continues to decline, West Virginia is grappling with how to handle mine lands abandoned by coal companies. (Quartz)
• Coal communities in east Tennessee and Kentucky are trying to protect high-risk black lung disease patients while groups pressure Congress for more financial support in Appalachia. (Southerly)
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UTILITIES:
• Environmental groups call on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to require utilities to keep power on for customers during the pandemic, while a group of utilities say they will lower bills. (Tampa Bay Times, News4Jax)
• A NextEra executive says the company still wants to buy South Carolina utility Santee Cooper, despite opposition from some lawmakers. (Utility Dive)
NUCLEAR: A Georgia court rejects a challenge to the Plant Vogtle nuclear power expansion for a second time, saying it can’t consider it until the project is complete. (WABE)
OIL & GAS: In a 10-day span of the oil market crash, 2,500 oil and gas workers in Texas have lost their jobs. (Houston Chronicle)
PIPELINES:
• Pipeline operator Energy Transfer is looking to use two Texas pipelines to store oil during the pandemic. (Bloomberg)
• A Republican-sponsored ratepayer protection measure in Virginia could spell trouble for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• Louisiana’s economy will suffer if the coronavirus pandemic continues, causing the oil and gas industry to struggle even more, a professor writes. (The Advocate)
• The coalfields of southwest Virginia could gain significantly more solar energy because of the state’s new laws, an advocacy group writes. (Appalachian Voices)