COAL:
• The West Virginia communities that depend on coal salaries are reeling. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting and SNL Energy)
WORKFORCE:
• Renewable and energy efficiency companies in Tennessee are growing faster than the economy as a whole. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• West Virginia is to receive about $5 million in grants to retrain workers who’ve lost coal and other jobs. (The Charleston Gazette)
• Displaced West Virginia coal miners are drawn to oil and gas job training events. (Wheeling News-Register)
SOLAR:
• Amazon is using a power purchase agreement with Community Energy for its 80-megawatt solar farm in Virginia. (Delmarva Now)
• An environmental group in North Carolina wants the state to OK its agreement to sell power to a church. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A solar company is helping non-profits in West Virginia go solar with an innovative rebate program. (Christian Science Monitor)
• Abington, Virginia residents turn out in force to consider going solar through a bulk-purchasing coop. (Bristol Herald Courier)
PIPELINES: Kinder Morgan appeals Georgia’s denial of its proposed Palmetto Pipeline route, calling it “arbitrary and capricious”. (Savannah Morning News)
CONGRESS: Led by Chair Hal Rogers of Kentucky, a House panel approves a bill that would cut EPA funding and block key Obama administration climate rules which the President has signaled he will veto. (The Hill, E&E Daily)
FRACKING: Seismic testing for natural gas begins in Eastern Kentucky. (Western Kentucky Public Radio)
OIL & GAS: A drilling company wants to resume the hunt for oil in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve; public comments are due July 17. (Miami Herald)
UTILITIES:
• Louisiana’s Inspector General says New Orleans is too reliant on consultants to regulate Entergy. (The Times-Picayune)
• A Tennessee co-op is asking customers to join a peak power plan to conserve electricity on hot weekdays. (Columbia Daily-Herald)
• Florida Power & Light wants regulatory assurance on cost recovery of a natural gas drilling venture in Oklahoma. (Palm Beach Post)
COMMENTARY:
• The natural gas emphasis of TVA’s resource plan exposes ratepayers to price spikes and under-values energy efficiency and renewable sources. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy blog)
• A pediatrician reflects on the dangers that climate change poses to Nashville’s children – opinion. (The Tennessean)