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COAL: Imprisoned former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship paints himself as an “American political prisoner” in a lengthy brochure posted to his web site. (Fortune)
ALSO:
• Arch Coal emerges from bankruptcy with 7% of its pre-filing debt. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe promotes results of a state-backed program by to export coal processing equipment. (Augusta Free Press)
COAL ASH: Environmental groups reach a settlement with Duke Energy requiring the removal of all ash at its Buck facility in Salisbury, North Carolina. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
SOLAR:
• SolarCity expands its residential business into South Carolina. (Solar Industry)
• A free tour of homes and businesses in Lousiville equipped with solar power systems is slated for Saturday. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
UTILITIES: A group organized by the Sierra Club speaks out against Dominion Virginia Power’s heavy reliance on natural gas and nuclear in its proposed Integrated Resource Plan. (Augusta Free Press)
PIPELINES:
• Federal regulators approve construction of a Transco natural gas pipeline to serve a large Dominion Virginia Power power plant. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• Citizens in a West Virginia county seize on report finding neither the Atlantic Coast nor Mountain Valley pipelines are needed. (Morgan County USA)
• Twenty-three people are arrested in pipeline protests at the Virginia governor’s mansion. (Augusta Free Press)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Members of North Carolina’s League of Conservation Voters focus on keeping their guard up against seismic testing for offshore drilling. (Lumina News)
WEST VIRGINIA:
• A Senate hearing in Logan refreshes deep divisions over whether to help preserve coal or focus the state’s economy on cleaner energy sources. (Associated Press)
• West Virginia University researchers see signs the state’s economy is beginning to improve. (The Exponent Telegram)
• The state’s tax collections continue to fall from projected levels due increasingly to low natural gas prices. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
NUCLEAR:
• A decision looms on whether Duke Energy will receive a construction and operating license for two proposed reactors North Carolina’s Cherokee County. (Gaffney Ledger)
• Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good touts nuclear’s role in lowering carbon emissions. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Here is how the TVA is recruiting and training the next generation of its engineers. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
POLICY: Advanced Energy Economy partners with Microsoft to offer a new predictive policy tool to support legislative advocacy at the state level. (Advanced Energy Economy)
COMMENTARY: Dominion Virginia Power CEO Robert Blue makes the case for a high-voltage transmission line it wants to serve the state’s Peninsula. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)