COAL: As main street businesses go without aid, a Lexington coal company valued at $100 million received an $8.4 million forgivable loan through the Trump administration’s small business relief program. (Lexington Herald Leader)

ALSO: The head of the United Mine Workers union says liquidating Murray Energy as proposed by one creditor would be bad for miners. (MetroNews)

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NUCLEAR:
• The pandemic is slowing the pace of construction at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle, the country’s only active nuclear power plant project. (Greentech Media)
• Georgia Power says 171 workers at the Plant Vogtle site have now tested positive for coronavirus, while 81 have recovered. (Augusta Chronicle)

COAL ASH: A government contractor accused of endangering the Kingston coal ash cleanup workers is offering 197 of them $10,000 each to walk away from their lawsuits against the firm. (Knoxville News Sentinel, subscription) 

SOLAR:
• The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is among the partners in a U.S. Department of Energy effort to accelerate commercialization of thin, flexible solar cells made from a material called perovskite. (CleanTechnica)
• Invenergy announces the start of operations at its 100th solar project, a 160 megawatt system in Mitchell County, Georgia. (Power Technology)
• An Arkansas utility partners with a developer to build its first solar project, a 13.25 megawatt system in Jonesboro, Arkansas. (Solar Industry)

STORAGE: The chief operating officer of a Virginia electric cooperative is named board chair of the U.S. Energy Storage Association. (Power Engineering)

UTILITIES:
• A North Carolina manufacturers’ group asks Duke Energy to temporarily waive demand charges for industrial and commercial customers. (Charlotte Observer)
• San Antonio gas and electric utility CPS Energy is bracing for up to a $100 million loss this fiscal year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Rivard Report)

OIL & GAS: Oilfield services company Halliberton lays off 233 employees in Kilgore, Texas, as it plans to close its facility there. (Longview News-Journal) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Korean oil refiner pivoting to electric vehicle batteries says it will build a second factory on its site in Jackson Country, Georgia. (Global Atlanta)
• A University of Florida research paper imagines a “peer to peer car charging” system in which telescopic arms would connect and share power with other moving vehicles on a freeway. (New Atlas)

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.