The Energy Report
Fracking Concerns Fuel Research, Government Opposition
The latest hydraulic fracturing news includes new fracking bans and moratoriums and an increase in earthquakes linked to underground injection of fracking wastewater.
Read MoreTVA Milestone at Nuclear Plant
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted in May to issue an operating license to Watts Bar Unit 2, a nuclear power reactor owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority, pending additional regulatory requirements. If approved, Watts Bar 2 would be the first commercial nuclear reactor licensed in the United States since the first unit at the…
Read MoreLawsuit Defends Blackside Dace
A federal lawsuit filed in Knoxville, Tenn., alleges regulators failed to meet legal obligations to protect a threatened fish endemic to Appalachian streams. Four citizens groups, including the Sierra Club and Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment, claim the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…
Read MoreMountaintop Removal Reduces Nearby Songbird Populations
Forest-dependent songbird species appear in significantly smaller numbers in areas adjacent to reclaimed mountaintop removal mines, according to a study published this year in the journal Landscape Ecology. Evaluating bird populations in forested land next to reclaimed mine sites in Kentucky and West Virginia, researchers found declines in nearly two dozen types of songbirds, including…
Read MoreDominion Eyes Alternate Route for Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Immense public opposition in Virginia led developers to propose alternate routes for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, avoiding the two counties where residents have been most unwavering. Dominion Transmission Inc., which plans to build the 550-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina to serve southeastern utilities, announced in May that it mapped…
Read MoreDuke to Close Asheville Coal Plant
Under pressure to address rampant coal ash pollution, Duke Energy announced it will close its aging coal plant located near Asheville, N.C., and replace it with a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired facility, nearly doubling the current plant’s electricity-generating capacity. Of the four facilities deemed “high priority” by North Carolina’s Coal Ash Management Act, the Asheville plant…
Read MoreWV to Review Research on Mining Health Impacts
West Virginia’s Bureau of Public Health announced in March that the agency will begin working with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate existing research that links surface coal mining and poor health.
Read MoreDuke Energy Faces Historic Fines for Coal Ash Pollution
Duke Energy has agreed to pay $102 million for federal criminal charges stemming from violations of the Clean Water Act at five of its 14 coal ash sites in North Carolina.
Read MoreWhite House Plan Would Spur Investment in Appalachia
A broad set of initiatives included in the Obama administration’s proposed budget for 2016 would support economic development projects in Central Appalachian communities burdened by the coal industry’s continued decline.
Read MoreTVA 20-year Plan Heavy on Natural Gas, Nuclear
The Tennessee Valley Authority announced in March that it will not need to build a new power plant for at least 20 years. The utility, which covers all of Tennessee and parts of neighboring states, plans to address future power demand by increasing nuclear power output, retrofitting coal-fired power plants to burn natural gas, and…
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