WIND: Students from James Madison University win a collegiate wind energy competition that provides networking and hands-on experience for “the next generation of the wind energy workforce.” (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS:  Two women who protested construction of a massive plastics and petrochemical complex in Louisiana last year are arrested for “terrorizing” an oil and gas lobbyist and face up to 15 years in prison. (InsideClimate News)

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PIPELINES: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signs a law that designates properties with oil and gas equipment as “critical infrastructure,” making trespassing a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. (Bloomberg)

COAL: Taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of dollars in coal mine cleanup in Appalachia because several key financial instruments meant to guarantee environmental cleanup have been pushed to the brink of insolvency. (DeSmog) 

EMISSIONS: Southern Company says it is considering another carbon capture project in Mississippi at the site of an expensive, failed carbon-free coal plant. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• Construction begins on a solar farm near Berlin, Georgia, that will provide power to an electric utility. (Moultrie Observer)
• Wells Fargo is supporting the development of seven new solar projects, most of them in Virginia. (Power Engineering)

RENEWABLES: Duke Energy launches a program where North Carolina customers can pay $3 extra on their bill to support the generation of 250 kWh blocks of electricity from renewable energy. (PV Magazine)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new study on how expensive it is to charge electric vehicles reveals that it costs more to charge in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee than it does to use gasoline. (InsideClimate News)

UTILITIES: After a months-long pause during the pandemic, Tampa Electric will resume power disconnections later this summer for customers who don’t pay their bills. (Tampa Bay Times)