COAL: Southern Co. may drop the “clean coal” component of its Kemper plant in Mississippi, which the company says will only be viable under higher natural gas prices. (POWER Magazine)

ALSO:
• A federal report released Friday shows the amount of coal used to make electricity in the U.S. sank to a 33-year low and another report says the U.S. added 400 coal mining jobs in May. (Lexington Herald Leader, WTVR)
• President Trump praises new coal mines opening up, but those mines are producing metallurgic coal used in steelmaking, not power plants. (NPR)

NUCLEAR:
• Recently released records show many costly mistakes at the Summer nuclear project, which is $3 billion over budget and years behind schedule. (The State)
• Georgia regulators want Georgia Power to stop collecting a fee that has generated millions of dollars for the Vogtle plant, including from schools and other taxpayer-funded entities. (Augusta Chronicle)

CLIMATE:
• The New York Times analyzes how rejecting climate science came to become a core tenet of the Republican party. (New York Times)
• An economics and public policy professor at the University of Virginia answers questions about the impact of the U.S. exit from the Paris accord. (UVA Today)
• The head of a nonprofit energy conservation organization in North Carolina says President Trump’s decision to leave the climate pact will renew determination among companies and local and state governments to fight climate change. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Many large Georgia companies, including Coca-Cola, UPS, Southern Co. and Home Depot will continue to cut emissions despite the U.S. exit from the Paris agreement. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Two Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia condemned President Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris accord. (Washington Post)
• Florida’s top Republican leaders will not say whether climate change is man made. (Miami Herald)

PIPELINES: Protesters wearing backpacking gear gathered outside Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office in opposition of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipeline projects, as the governor’s race there becomes “a referendum on pipelines.” (Blue Virginia, Roanoke Times)

GASOLINE: Gasoline sold in Louisville and other Kentucky counties releases fewer harmful chemicals that contribute to air pollution, but officials are considering allowing conventional gasoline to be sold. (WFPL)

COAL ASH: Following approval from North Carolina officials last week, Duke Energy hopes to start moving coal ash into a new landfill within a week. (News & Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla supporters want Louisiana’s governor to veto legislation the company says will threaten future sales of the vehicles in the state. (Associated Press)

OIL: Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed the Triumph Gulf Coast legislation to distribute $1.5 billion that is part of the BP oil spill settlement. (Associated Press)

TRANSMISSION: How the proposed Plains & Eastern Clean Line project could benefit counties along its route. (Memphis Daily News)

COMMENTARY:
• Withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement “is eroding American honor in the eyes of the world.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A newspaper editorial encourages other cities in South Carolina to follow Cottageville, with is the state’s first city to switch completely to renewable energy. (Post and Courier)
• There’s no doubt “that getting more electricity from solar sources will reduce our carbon footprint,” says a Tallahassee newspaper editorial. (Tallahassee Democrat)
• The oil industry should pay for some of the expenses to try to save Louisiana’s sinking coast. (Times-Picayune)
• The U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement may have serious consequences for North Carolina’s coast. (News & Observer)
• Although President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate agreement “was predictable, it’s still profoundly disappointing” and North Carolina will suffer. (News & Record)
• Floridians should be worried that modest progress on climate change will be reversed. (Gainesville Sun)
• A professor emeritus says “the crusade against wind power” in North Carolina will continue and residents should insist lawmakers include wind power in the state’s energy plan. (News & Record)