COAL: The coronavirus pandemic has hammered healthcare systems for rural populations in Appalachia already struggling with the loss of coal jobs and health coverage. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• As the coal industry hemorrhages jobs, states and environmental groups are seeking ways to transition to a lower-carbon economy without leaving coal workers behind. (E&E News)
• West Virginia lawmakers urge federal regulators to expedite the approval of a filing that would allow a 700 MW coal-fired power plant to continue operating. (Utility Dive)

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EFFICIENCY: For the second year in a row, the North Carolina Senate is sidelining a bill to require hundreds of state-run buildings to conserve electricity and water and keep the lights off at night. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR: A clean energy group’s report says Chattanooga has only 99 watts of solar generation installed per capita — compared the average of 325 across the Southeast — and says TVA is largely to blame. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

OIL & GAS:
• Amid oil and gas layoffs in Texas, younger workers are rethinking their careers in the industry. (Houston Chronicle)
• One in six energy companies say the oil and gas industry will never recover from this economic downturn, according to a new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. (E&E News, subscription)
• Oklahoma regulators deny a request to limit the amount of oil that can be produced from wells in the state. (Oklahoman)

PIPELINES:
• Despite a Supreme Court win for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Virginia activists vow to keep fighting the project. (C-Ville)
• ANR Pipeline asks federal regulators to authorize an expansion that would help deliver natural gas from Manitoba to markets in the Gulf Coast region. (S&P Global)

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UTILITIES: Duke Energy says it must impose temporary rate increases during the pandemic or risk losing months of revenue. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says South Carolinians should be wary of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which could eventually extend into the state. (Post and Courier)
• Environmental justice activists encourage Virginians “who care about our air, land and water, about the climate crisis and public health” to apply for a seat on the state’s environmental board. (Virginia Mercury)