CHARLESTON, West Virginia, June 27 -- Appalachian Power issued the following news release: Appalachian Power issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 50 megawatts of solar energy resources in West Virginia. The RFP has a minimum bid size of 10 MW, operational date of December 2022, and provides developers the option of including an energy storage system with their proposal. To be eligible, the site must be in West Virginia and previously used in electric generation, industrial, manufact  more

TULSA, Oklahoma, June 27 -- Public Service Company of Oklahoma issued the following news release: Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has signed a 30 year lease with the U.S. Army for siting of an energy resilience project at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The proposed project is the result of collaboration between the Army and PSO. Benefits of the project's design include the addition of more clean energy to the power grid, and enhanced power quality  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, June 27 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University announced Friday a new partnership that will establish a first-of-its-kind institute to promote the awareness and empirical study of adverse childhood experiences, otherwise known as ACEs. ACEs are considered traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect and family dysfunction that can disrupt the safe, stable and nurturing environments that children   more

WASHINGTON, June 26 -- The Center for Biological Diversity issued the following news release: Scientists in North Carolina have determined that a species of riverbank wildflower conservationists have fought to protect since 2010 is actually two separate species -- and the "new" flower has been extinct for a century. This marks the 53rd plant known to be lost to extinction in the United States and Canada. The Center for Biological Diversity and allies petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servi  more

WASHINGTON, June 27 -- The U.S. Department of Energy issued the following news: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to make approximately $122 million available, through a competitive process, to establish coal products innovation centers. The innovation centers will focus on manufacturing value-added, carbon-based products from coal, as well developing new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal. "It's vitally important that America develop   more

RICHMOND, Virginia, June 25 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issued the following article by Laura Dawson Ullrich, regional economist at the Charlotte branch, and business intern Lucas Moyon: Introduction COVID-19 has impacted businesses and institutions throughout the Fifth District economy, and higher education is no exception. What began as a normal spring semester at colleges and universities became one of the most unusual on record, with instruction shifting from in person to onlin  more

CLEVELAND, Ohio, June 27 -- The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued the following news release: Nine fracking-focused gas companies in Appalachia reported a positive free cash flow during the first quarter of 2020--but only after slashing capital expenditures and reporting significant revenues from financial hedging, according to a new study (https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Capex-and-Cash-Cuts-from-Hedging-Give-Appalachian-Frackers-Positive-FCF-in-Q1_June-2  more

FRANKFORT, Kentucky, June 27 -- Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, issued the following news on June 24: Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday updated Kentuckians on the state's actions to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). "We are going to get through this because we have shown, even with a worldwide health pandemic, we can come together, unite, know what it takes, and manage something as aggressive and deadly as COVID-19," the Governor said. "The only way we can reopen safely is if we continu  more

FRANKFORT, Kentucky, June 27 -- Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, issued the following news: Gov. Andy Beshear announced that his administration is keeping its promise to build America's AgriTech capital in Kentucky. Actions taken by Gov. Beshear on Wednesday include signing an international agreement with 16 other partner organizations, including the Dutch government, that are committed to the same goal. The Governor also established an AgriTech Advisory Council to guide the commonwealth's incre  more

ARLINGTON, Virginia, June 27 -- The National Association of State Energy Officials issued the following news: On June 26, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) announced its intention to provide up to $122 million in funding, through a competitive process, to establish multiple coal innovation centers to focus on manufacturing value-added, carbon-based products from coal and develop new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal. Innovation centers will  more

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, June 27 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory issued the following news: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL intends to make approximately $122 million available, through a competitive process, to establish coal products innovation centers. The innovation centers will focus on manufacturing value-added, carbon-based products from coal, as well developing new methods to extract and process rare earth elements and critical mine  more

WASHINGTON, June 27 -- Rep. Carol Miller, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) announced a grant of $1,500,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to the Natural Capital Investment Fund Inc. for the NCIFund: West Virginia COVID-19 Emergency Response Small Business Loan Program. The funds are to be used to support its COVID-19 Emergency Response Loan Fund (ERLF). The loans will help small businesses who have been impacted by COVID-19 and are   more

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- Rep. David Trone, D-Maryland, issued the following news release: Congressman David Trone (MD-06) announced that two of Western Maryland's top infrastructure priorities were included in a sweeping $1.5 trillion bill introduced in the House of Representatives this week. The bill, H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act, includes historic funding for two of Trone's top infrastructure priorities in Western Maryland -- $100 billion for broadband investment and the Advancing Infrastru  more

WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee issued the following testimony by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai at a hearing on the oversight of the agency: I appreciate the opportunity to update you on the work of the Federal Communications Commission, particularly our efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since becoming FCC Chairman in January 2017, my top priority has been to close the digital divide. With the onset of the COVID-19 pand  more

BLACKSBURG, Virginia, June 24 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: Carla Finkielstein, a cancer researcher and an associate professor of biological sciences in Virginia Tech's College of Science, will join the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC on July 1. Finkielstein, whose research focuses on the molecular basis of how circadian rhythms influence cancer initiation and progression, will move her research program and laboratory to the research institute. "Dr. Finkielstein is an  more

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, June 25 -- The Public Service Commission of West Virginia issued the following order (Case No. 20-0368-E-PC): APPALACHIAN POWER COMPANY and WHEELING POWER COMPANY, public utilities, Petition for consent and approval to maintain Reliability Index Targets approved in Case No. 18-0588-E-PC. COMMISSION ORDER The Commission grants a petition to intervene. BACKGROUND On May 1, 2020, Appalachian Power Company (APCo) and Wheeling Power Company (WPCo) (collectively Companie  more