COAL: Coal mine safety regulators say existing safety regulations are sufficient to protect miners from toxic black lung disease, despite calls to make them more stringent. (NPR)
ALSO: The joint venture between Peabody Energy and Arch Coal will create the country’s biggest coal company, but may not save coal. (E&E News, subscription)
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COAL ASH: The new Tennessee Valley Authority head assures a Tennessee community that the company is taking steps to get rid of coal ash as it prepares to close a power plant. (Daily Herald)
SOLAR:
• A solar developer breaks ground on a 150 MW project in Texas and launches a new retail electric provider. (San Antonio Express-News)
• Developers complete a 10 MW solar project for a Marine Corps training facility in South Carolina. (Energy Manager Today)
EMISSIONS: The Trump administration’s move to end the Clean Power Plan likely won’t affect South Carolina, where natural gas and renewables are growing. (Post and Courier)
NUCLEAR: Georgia residents receive a test emergency alert notification about a radiological hazard. (CNN)
PIPELINES: A Kentucky arboretum tries to prevent a utility from building a natural gas pipeline on its property. (WFPL)
OIL & GAS:
• West Virginia is still waiting on an $84 billion investment from China’s state-owned energy company to build natural gas facilities. (CNBC)
• Two companies plan to build a crude oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas. (Sealy News)
• The Port of Corpus Christi throws its support behind a Phillips 66 crude export terminal after blocking another similar project. (KrisTV)
• Shell donates more than 4,000 acres of wetlands to a Louisiana parish where many of its pipelines are located. (Houma Today)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Advocates in South Carolina and Georgia push for support of a bill that would permanently ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic Coast. (WSAV)