SOLAR: Coal county school boards in Virginia lobby for changes to a regional utility contract that is limiting installation of solar panels on school buildings. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• A Kentucky school district has saved half-a-million dollars in two years by installing solar panels and energy efficiency measures. (Northern Kentucky Tribune)
• An Arkansas school district expects to save $40,000 annually after signing a deal for solar energy. (Hot Springs Village Voice)
• An 86 MW solar farm in western Kentucky prepares for construction. (Paducah Sun)
• A Texas regulator gives the go-ahead for a school district to negotiate incentives with a company considering a 500 MW solar farm. (Houston Business Journal)
• Asheville, North Carolina, shares energy data from its first solar project, which has been online for several weeks. (news release)

COAL:
• Coal and other fossil fuel companies back Republicans in West Virginia’s statewide races, according to campaign finance reports, while labor organizations back Democrats. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Donald Trump hasn’t succeeded in reviving the struggling coal industry but retains the backing of many fossil fuel workers. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

UTILITIES: A Republican and Libertarian running for Oklahoma’s utility regulation board look for ways to boost the state’s struggling oil and gas industry. (NonDoc)

WIND: The coronavirus has slowed the development of wind energy through supply chain disruptions and delays in construction. (New York Times)

OIL & GAS: A Republican U.S. Senator running for reelection in Louisiana shifts his focus toward Joe Biden’s remark about a “transition” away from oil in last week’s debate. (The Advocate)

COMMENTARY:
• Texas should rework its tax structure to reduce state government’s dependence on oil and gas while taking advantage of the growing solar and wind industries, argues a business professor. (Austin American-Statesman)
• A climate activist questions why a Virginia law firm is simultaneously representing clients who want bold action on climate change while also suing the state for taking such action. (Virginia Mercury)

Avatar photo

Mason Adams

Mason has worked as a journalist since 2001, covering Appalachian communities and the issues that affect them. He compiles the Southeast Energy News digest. Mason previously worked as a wildlife biologist before moving into journalism by freelancing at Coast Weekly in Monterey, California, before taking an internship in 2001 at High Country News. He wrote for the Enterprise Mountaineer in western North Carolina and the Roanoke Times in western Virginia before going freelance in 2012. His work has appeared in Southerly, Daily Yonder, Mother Jones, Huffington Post, WVPB’s Inside Appalachia and elsewhere. Mason was born and raised in Clifton Forge, Virginia, and now lives with his family and a small herd of goats in Floyd County, Virginia.