COAL: West Virginia lawmakers advance a bill allowing more pollution into streams despite strong opposition at a public hearing. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

ALSO:
• The Interior Department removes from its website a controversial claim that repealing the federal stream protection prevented the loss of “7,000 clean coal jobs in 22 states.” (Greenwire)
• A worker is killed at a West Virginia facility owned by Gov. Jim Justice. (WSAZ)

COAL ASH:
• More evidence emerges pointing to widespread pollution from a Kentucky coal ash site as state lawmakers and regulators seek to weaken oversight. (WFPL)
• New results showing that contamination from a North Carolina plant could flow toward drinking water wells has Duke Energy downplaying the importance of computer modeling it once emphasized. (Progressive Pulse)

PIPELINES: On Norman Bay’s last day as FERC commissioner, he made recommendations that pipeline project watchdogs have pitched for years. (Roanoke Times)

SOLAR:
• The Kentucky Solar Industries Association said lawmakers are considering unnecessary regulations that would hurt “a fledgling industry that has the potential for tremendous growth.” (The Lane Report)
• Officials in a South Carolina county approve a 40-year tax deal for five solar farms. (Hampton County Guardian)
• A school in North Carolina that is generating more electricity than it uses has become part of students’ curriculum on energy use. (WRAL)
• A Florida Steel Fabricator says its solar project is an example of a heavy industrial operation moving away from a carbon-based fuel system. (Solar Industry)
• An Arkansas rural co-op plans a 1 MW solar array. (Arkansas Business)

NUCLEAR: Duke Energy says its Carolina nuclear plants set a record for generation last year. (Daily Energy Insider)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial compares North Carolina’s first wind farm with the Wright Brothers’ historic flight. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• A South Carolina Republican and former congressman urges state lawmakers not to tax solar installations. (The State)
• A Kentucky solar installer says proposed legislation is an assault on personal freedom. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• A representative of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance says Tennessee’s senators can kill “a reckless and unreasonable regulation on America’s oil and gas industry.” (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• In West Virginia, “life after coal is going to be hard, but not impossible.” (Beckley Register-Herald)

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.