NUCLEAR: Duke Energy lifts the low-level emergency at its Brunswick nuclear plant in North Carolina and begins ferrying out the nearly 300 workers who were trapped by floodwaters. (News & Observer)
MORE: A Florida utility board urges Georgia regulators to abandon work on the Vogtle nuclear power plant. (Power Engineering Magazine)
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COAL:
• Coal and natural gas industry representatives ask West Virginia lawmakers not to raise or lower severance taxes. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Hurricane Florence damage debunks the Trump administration’s claim that boosting coal and nuclear power is necessary for reliable electricity, some energy experts say. (Washington Post)
PIPELINES:
• A judge issues a temporary stay on the Mountain Valley Pipeline on property where the pipeline will enter the Greenbrier River in West Virginia. (Beckley Register-Herald)
• Trespassing near oil and gas pipelines is now a felony offense in Louisiana, but it’s unclear if protesters charged so far will be prosecuted. (WNNO)
WIND:
• Conservative lawmakers, activists, and an oil investor campaigned to stop a wind farm in rural Texas while the state embraces renewable energy. (Texas Observer)
• Oklahoma regulators say NextEra’s wind turbines are still legal despite a location change residents complained about. (News 9)
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OIL & GAS:
• The Permian Basin in Texas desperately needs workers to build roads to keep up with the oil and gas boom. (Dallas Morning News)
• A company cuts the ribbon on its $8 million sand mine and processing facility in Texas, which will be used for the fracking industry. (KWTX)
COMMENTARY:
• Increasing the coal severance tax in West Virginia may reduce revenue and drive high-paying extraction industry jobs out of state, an editorial board argues. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• North Carolina regulators will hold hearings this month on new draft coal ash regulations for the state, and an advocacy group asks for comments on the proposal. (Appalachian Voices)