Lab manager sentenced for faking water samples from coal mines

COAL: A lab manager in West Virginia is sentenced to two years in prison for doctoring water samples to benefit the industry. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

ALSO:
• Decisions by an Ohio utility illustrate why coal mined in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky is losing market share for power generation. (The Exponent Telegram)
• The Appalachian Regional Commission says it’s awarding nearly $26 million to train workers in five states impacted by coal’s downturn. (The State Journal)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join fellow advocates, renewable energy business leaders, utility staff and regulators at the sixth annual Clean Power Summit Feb 23-24 in Charleston, S.C. As a supporting sponsor, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy extends a 10% discount off registration. Use code: CECPS ***

WIND: In two of his final acts as President, Barack Obama charted a course for cleaner energy off the Southeast Atlantic Coast. (Southeast Energy News)

ADVOCACY:
• Why a Conservative clean energy group in North Carolina is expanding into Virginia. (Southeast Energy News)
• Environmental activists in Kentucky are urged not to ​“lose heart.” (Louisville Courier-Journal)

CLIMATE:
• Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fl, presses the nominee to head the Commerce Dept. to protect the climate data it gathers. (News-Press)
• Environmentalists question Virginia’s most populous county over its commitment to mitigating climate change. (Washington Post)

EFFICIENCY: President Trump halts rules to boost the energy efficiency on several products, including portable air conditioners and commercial boilers. (Washington Post)

FRACKING:
• Members of the King Georgia County, Virginia Board of Supervisors join opposition to a state bill aimed at hiding chemicals from public disclosure. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• A Florida state senator is set to introduce a second bill to ban fracking there. (Florida Politics)

UTILITIES: Customers of Gulf Power in Florida face an unprecedented rate increase. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Questions loom how long the federal $7,500 tax credit will last and how Tesla buyers will fare with Model 3s on order. (Clean Technica)

RENEWABLES: A Virginia county bars large solar and wind farms in districts zoned for agricultural uses. (DelmarvaNow.com)

PIPELINE:
• A study commission in Georgia recommends lawmakers extend for another two years the current moratorium on oil and gas pipeline construction. (Savannah Morning News)
• Federal regulators say a pipeline off the Louisiana coast is leaking natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Why did conservatives in North Carolina wait for the incoming Trump administration to challenge Amazon’s wind farm? (Coastal Carolina)
• A newspaper editorial decries North Carolina conservatives for their ​“jihad against alternative energy.” (Fayetteville Observer)
• Watch for Rick Perry to push hard for nuclear energy at the Dept. of Energy. (The Hill)