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)

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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