COAL: In another delay for the Kemper “clean coal” plant, Mississippi Power now says the facility will not be using lignite for fuel until mid-April. (Biloxi Sun Herald)

ALSO:
• Worker safety advocates and labor groups are concerned about West Virginia’s push for regulatory rollbacks at the same time that the Trump administration is proposing significant cuts to federal agencies responsible for safeguarding workers. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, WV Public Broadcasting)
• President Trump has also proposed eliminating funding for economic development programs supporting laid-off coal miners in Appalachia. (Reuters)

WIND: Avangrid, the same company that developed North Carolina’s first onshore wind farm, wins a nearly $9 million offshore lease. (Raleigh News & Observer)

SOLAR:
• Arkansas regulators decide to allow existing solar customers to be grandfathered in under current net metering rates for 20 years. (Arkansas Business)
• Google’s Project Sunroof finds that more than 20,000 rooftops in the Asheville, North Carolina are suitable for solar, totaling more than 400 MW of capacity. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
• Dominion is increasing the number of sites for its Solar for Schools program in Virginia. (Virginia Business)

CLEAN ENERGY: A North Carolina lawmaker introduces a resolution calling for the state to set a target of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. (Raleigh News & Observer)

UTILITIES: The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a decision by state regulators about how Florida Power & Light can recoup costs from customers for a construction project. (Miami Herald)

NUCLEAR: Two small earthquakes on Wednesday raised concerns about the possibility of a future nuclear power plant in Kentucky. (WPSD)

OIL AND GAS: Many of the projects in Exxon’s recently announced $20 billion “Growing the Gulf” initiative have already been completed or are underway. (New Orleans Times Picayune)

COMMENTARY:
• Why clean energy is being held back in North Carolina despite widespread public support. (Facing South)
• Nuclear projects throughout the Southeast “are headed to the losers’ bracket.” (The Energy Collective)
• The editor emeritus of the Charleston Gazette-Mail says America’s coal industry decline is particularly visible in West Virginia because “inevitably, all fossil fuels become depleted.” (The Intelligencer)
• A columnist questions recent actions by Florida legislators that seem more favorable to Florida Power & Light than their constituents. (Miami Herald)
• “The voters have clearly spoken: reduce taxes and protect the freedom to choose solar power” and state legislative action should reflect this. (Miami Herald)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.