West Virginia’s coal baron governor wins U.S. Senate nomination

PIPELINES:

• A federal appeals court rules that landowners along the Mountain Valley Pipeline should be awarded double what a lower court gave them after finding it abused its discretion in shrinking a jury’s initial verdict. (Cardinal News; Bloomberg, subscription)
• A Virginia county board registers its concern with federal regulators about the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request to enter service by June 1 despite ongoing construction, repairs and safety testing. (Roanoke Times)

MINING:

• The rapid growth of the battery industry for electric vehicles and generation facilities leads to uncertainty and concern by North Carolina residents who live near a planned lithium mine. (Agence France-Presse)
• Two companies in a joint venture consider how to profitably mine lithium and rare earth minerals from a smooth, 1,250-foot mountain outside El Paso, Texas. (El Paso Matters)

SOLAR:

• A Georgia congregation signs a deal with an energy company to purchase solar power from a 30 MW solar farm. (Savannah Morning News)
• Mississippi residents express concern about a planned 400 MW solar farm and its proximity to homes. (WAPT)
• A Virginia county board discusses how a planned data center might incorporate solar power from a related initiative to power nearby homes. (WRIC)
• A Georgia cement plant signs an agreement with Georgia Power to secure a quarter of its power needs from solar facilities beginning next year. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A company shows off an electric tractor-trailer truck designed to haul freight for short distances in hopes of acquiring customers around Georgia’s Port of Savannah. (The Current)
• Electric vehicle maker Canoo, which operates a factory in Oklahoma and plans to locate its headquarters in Arkansas, posts a $110.7 million loss for the first quarter of 2024. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)