EIA projects coal plant closures will double under the Clean Power Plan

COAL:
• Government statisticians project coal plant closures will more than double under the Clean Power Plan. (EnergyWire)
• Alpha Resources has notified 439 workers it expects to idle an underground mine and processing plant in West Virginia. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• West Virginia’s governor blames the EPA and tougher regulations for coal’s declining market. (Wheeling News Register)
• A non-profit tackles a legacy of the coal industry’s boom-and-bust nature in many Appalachian communities: empty buildings. (Associated Press)
• Blackhawk Mining of Lexington, Kentucky is the reported would-be buyer of Patriot Coal’s assets in bankruptcy court. (Bloomberg)

COAL GASIFICATION: Southern Co. is evaluating its alternatives following the withdrawal of the South Mississippi Electric Power Assn. from its coal gasification project. (The Wall Street Journal)

OIL & GAS:
• The oil sheen from the now-extinguished fire on an oil production platform offshore Louisiana ​“is dissipating.” (The Times-Picayune)
• Calling on fellow lawmakers to ​“ignore Big Oil’s greed, ” Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is fighting legislation that would allow drilling off Florida’s coast. (Tallahassee Democrat)
• Public input is sought about leasing tracts in the Gulf for oil exploration from 2017 to 2022. (Gulfport Sun Herald, Mississippi)
• The deadline for filing claims due to the 2010 BP oil spill is June 8. (The Tampa Tribune)
• Some credit BP for helping draw beach lovers back to the Gulf for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES:
• The Obama administration is resisting a congressional push to establish new natural gas pipelines on federal lands in the eastern U.S. (The Hill)
• The Kentucky Supreme Court rules natural gas liquids pipelines cannot use eminent domain. (WFPL Louisville Public Radio)

NUCLEAR: Areva and other industry leaders are eyeing 100-year life spans for new nuclear reactors. (Charlotte Business Journal)

NORTH CAROLINA:
• The state Senate quickly approved a bill to speed construction of a natural gas-fired power plant to replace a shuttered coal plant in Asheville. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Some lawmakers in North Carolina say it’s time for solar to rise or fall without incentives or mandates. (Associated Press)

SOLAR: A solar bulk-purchasing coop in Georgia has netted 35 residential contracts thus far in front of Friday’s deadline. (Savannah Morning News)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: A student coalition pushes for passage of a bill requiring Kentucky’s utilities to increase investments in renewable energy. (WKMS Western Kentucky Public Radio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Lexington, Kentucky resident claims to be the first Tesla P85D owner to drive coast-to-coast using its supercharger network. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

POLLUTION: The Charleston port is fighting efforts to develop a cleaner source of shore-side power for cruise ships docked there. (Charleston Post and Courier)

EFFICIENCY: The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Choctaw Health Center has been awarded the LEED Gold designation. (The Meridian Star, Mississippi)

TRANSPORTATION: The Tuscaloosa city schools join Mobile County as second school system in Alabama to power its buses with propane. (Tuscaloosa News)

COMMENTARY:
• Serious questions remain over Duke Energy’s and regulators’ handling of coal ash rules. (The Virginian-Pilot)
• Elected officials should be more wary of coal-ash safety claims by utilities. (The Daily News, Jacksonville, North Carolina)
• Florida lawmakers should loosen utilities’ control of solar power. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
• The former Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers who championed solar power is the same Jim Rogers who neglected its coal ash challenges. (Greensboro News & Record)