COAL: The coronavirus pandemic has hammered healthcare systems for rural populations in Appalachia and Wyoming 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)

***SPONSORED LINK: Center Out: A Strategy for Climate Success will be hosted by the Great Plains Institute on June 25. Join the conversation about how the Midwest can lead the clean energy transformation. Click here for more and to RSVP.***

CLIMATE:
• Minnesota’s attorney general sues major fossil fuel companies, claiming they have fraudulently deceived consumers for decades about climate change. (Star Tribune)
• In states where governors have made broad promises on addressing climate change, the results are often falling short of the rhetoric. (E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A new report finds the Trump administration has approved about half as many wind and solar projects on public land as the Obama administration did over a similar time period. (Reuters)
• A poll finds a partisan divide over whether stimulus funds should be used to support clean energy advancement. (Reuters)
• A new study finds California’s clean energy programs disproportionately benefit wealthy residents. (Los Angeles Times)

SOLAR:
• Reduced demand during the pandemic is causing solar prices to fall faster than expected, according to a new analysis. (Bloomberg)
• New York announces $10.6 million in grants to help offset pre-development costs for solar projects that benefit disadvantaged communities. (Grist)
• A new report says the TVA, once a solar innovator, now lags other southern utilities in advancing solar power. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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)
• Clean energy advocates are optimistic that Kansas City, Missouri, officials will adopt the strongest energy efficiency standard in the country in its building code next year. (Energy News Network)

OFFSHORE WIND: A recent federal simulation of a proposed wind farm off the coast of California shows potential visual impacts would be minimal. (Monterey County Weekly)

OIL & GAS:
• Republican senators propose a new aid package to ease the tax burden and royalty payments for oil and gas companies. (E&E News, subscription)
• 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)

***SPONSORED LINK: Do you know someone who works hard to facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy? Nominate yourself or someone you know for Energy News Network’s 40 Under 40 today.*** 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An annual survey ranks Tesla last among 32 automakers for problems reported in the first three months of ownership. (NBC)

COMMENTARY:
• “The green revolution is finally happening,” writes a Wall Street Journal columnist.
• A scientist says centuries of deterministic thinking about climate affect how we view the issue today. (Scientific American)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.