WIND:
• Dominion loses a $40 million federal grant for a Virginia offshore wind project as environmentalists charge it dragged its feet thereby inviting officials to pull the funding. (The Virginian-Pilot, Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Appalachian Power’s new Integrated Resource Plan aims for 300 megawatts of wind-generated power by 2018. (Bacon’s Rebellion)

NUCLEAR:
• The parent of South Carolina Electric & Gas seeks regulatory approval to fix the costs of building two new reactors at its V.C. Summer plant. (World Nuclear News)
• After a one-year dip, the number of nuclear engineering graduates from universities in the U.S. increased in 2015. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy on June 2, 11 a.m. EDT for a webinar featuring retired military officers on why top defense and intelligence agencies identify climate change as a key security risk. Register here.***

COAL ASH:
• Duke University researchers find ash from coal burned in Appalachia is rich in coveted rare earth minerals. (Science Daily)
• The lead manager of Duke Energy’s coal ash disposal operations says the utility cannot meet the state’s 2024 deadline. (WCQS Public Radio)
• Sixteen million tons of ash adjacent to Lake Norman near Charlotte is a vivid illustration of Duke Energy’s coal ash challenges. (Charlotte Observer)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Mississippi manufacturer co-founded by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has produced just 25 vehicles over seven years and may be the subject of a federal probe. (Roanoke Times)
• Virginia sets a July 1 hearing in Richmond for Tesla’s bid to open a second company-run dealership in the state. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COAL:
• A federal program designed to retrain about 3,200 coal miners for other jobs, mostly in eastern Kentucky, has spent $17 million since 2013. (Associated Press)
• Kentucky trade groups host “safety days” to hone rescue skills needed for recovery operations after mining accidents. (Kentucky New Era)

2010 BP OIL SPILL: Efforts to restore the Gulf’s ecosystem look to be the largest such effort ever. (Associated Press)

BIOMASS: A carbon tax in the U.K. is helping make wood pellets produced in Mississippi and shipped out of Louisiana a useful fuel there for generating electricity. (Baton Rouge Advocate)

NATURAL GAS: A leading Russian officials says U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas out of Louisiana, which compete with a state-run company for market share in Europe, will soon no longer be profitable. (Platts)

PIPELINES: Critics call a pact between Virginia regulators and Dominion Virginia Power a “smokescreen” to hide lax controls over sediment pollution reaching waterways. (Bay Journal)

FRACKING: “Black gold” has turned to “red ink” for drillers in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in Louisiana. (Baton Rouge Advocate)

POLITICS: Former Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina perseveres in trying to persuade other Republicans to acknowledge climate change. (Post and Courier)

COMMENTARY:
• Customers shouldn’t have to pay for cost overruns in building nuclear plants. (Post and Courier)
• Here are the realities of challenges facing North Carolina and Duke Energy in disposing of coal ash. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• A close look at the clean energy and climate record of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. (Roanoke Times)
• The solar initiative on Florida’s November election ballot states a right that residents and businesses already have, but it will help protect utility monopolies. (Wall Street Pit)