BLACKSBURG, Virginia, May 13 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: The nation's transition to a sustainable and clean-energy future heavily focuses on the use of hydrogen as an energy source. To expedite a hydrogen-fueled future, the Biden administration recently announced more than $7 billion in federal funding to expand hydrogen infrastructure on a nationwide scale. Rohit Pandey, assistant professor of mining and minerals engineering at Virginia Tech, has received $1.5 million in resea  more

GAHANNA, Ohio, May 14 -- AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power company, issued the following news release on May 13, 2024: AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, today filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio in docket 24-508-EL-ATA a proposal that would create a new rate category for data center customers and cryptocurrency mining/mobile data center operations. The proposed rate structure would require new data centers with loads greater than 25 megawatts (MW) and  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 14 -- American Electric Power Corp. issued the following news release on May 13, 2024: American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) has named Chris Brathwaite vice president and chief communications officer, effective today. He will report to Phil Ulrich, executive vice president and chief human resources officer. Brathwaite will have responsibility for enterprise-wide employee and external communications, reputation management, policy communications, marketing, brand management,   more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 14 -- American Electric Power Corp. issued the following news release on May 13, 2024: American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) announced today it will retain its retail energy business, AEP Energy. The company is reaffirming its 2024 operating earnings guidance of $5.53 to $5.73 per share, long-term growth rate of 6% to 7% and FFO/Debt target of 14% to 15%. AEP management will meet with investors tomorrow at the Citi 2024 Energy Conference. The company's updated cash flow for  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 14 -- American Electric Power Corp. issued the following news release: American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) has entered into an agreement to sell its distributed resources business, AEP OnSite Partners ("OnSite"), to funds advised by Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLC. AEP expects to net approximately $315 million in cash after taxes and transaction fees, subject to customary closing adjustments. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, pending regulatory  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following news release: Denver -- U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) alongside 18 of their Congressional colleagues called on U.S. Senate and House Appropriations Committee leaders to appropriate at least $8 million in Fiscal Year 2025 to support transitioning energy communities across the country through the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal & Power Plant Communities  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, May 15 -- Boston University School of Law issued the following Q&A on May 14, 2024, with student Keenan Hunt-Stone: * * * By Kimberly Miragliuolo For many members of this year's graduating class, the decision to apply for law school was made during a pivotal time in history. The JDs graduating in May of 2024 were likely starting to decide their next career steps in March of 2020, when the global pandemic began. By May of 2020, racial violence and police brutality had fu  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced resources from several federal agencies for projects that will bolster health services, economic development, infrastructure, education programs, environmental cleanup, and public housing projects across West Virginia. More information on the projects can be found below: HHS FUNDING:   more

ARLINGTON, Virginia, May 18 -- The Conservation Fund posted the following news release on May 17, 2024: A coalition of conservation, sportsmen and forest management organizations and companies today applauded inclusion of the Forest Conservation Easement Program (FCEP) in the Farm Bill as introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. In establishing the first comprehensive private and tribal forestland conservation easement program, FCEP would give forest landowners the same opportunity oth  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) has introduced the bipartisan Benton MacKaye Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act, which would authorize a study to designate a 287-mile trail linking Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina as a National Scenic Trail. A companion measure was introduced in the Senate by Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia. The trail which crosses mountains and valleys and passes alongside streams a  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 (TNScapv) -- The Defenders of Wildlife issued the following news release on May 15, 2024: Defenders of Wildlife and more than one hundred other organizations and businesses today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning thanking them for their leadership promoting native plants in ecological restoration and for their commitment to establish a National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center. "Native see  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news on May 15, 2024: By Joseph Clark, DOD News The Defense Department is expanding its work with interagency partners to promote sustainable land-use practices at key sites near military installations with the designation of five new sentinel landscapes, the department announced today alongside interagency partners. The newly designated sites in New Mexico, Utah, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and California add to the more tha  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- The U.S. Department of Energy issued the following news: * * * 18 Projects in 10 States Will Supercharge the U.S. Clean Energy Supply Chain and Open New Markets for Solar Technologies * * * As part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda (https://www.whitehouse.gov/invest/?utm_source=invest.gov), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a $71 million investment, including $16 million from the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, in research, de  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 18 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: East Tennessee State University secured the title of Top Adventure College for the second year in a row by readers of Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine and the community. This recognition was earned through a bracket-style tournament that pitted ETSU against colleges and universities in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, culminating in ETSU's triumph over Appalachian State University in the final round. "ETSU  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, May 15 -- East Tennessee State University issued the following news: East Tennessee State University's Reece Museum has received an Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM) for the long-running 2023 exhibition, "An Exuberant Spirit: The Sammie L. Nicely Collection." Curated to show the breadth of the full collection, "An Exuberant Spirit" featured 85 artworks from the Reece Museum's permanent collection and was on exhibit from May-December 202  more

RICHMOND, Virginia, May 15 -- Appalachian Voices issued the following joint statement on May 13, 2024, with seven organizations: * * * According to news reports, members of the budget conference committee failed to include language in the new budget insisting that the Commonwealth remain a part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is a multi-state carbon cap-and-invest program that in just three years brought nearly $830 million to Virginia to fund flood resiliency projects and ener  more

AUGUSTA, Maine, May 16 -- The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry issued the following news on May 15, 2024: The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust (MATLT), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Maine, and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) announced today that 2,706 acres have been added to the Mount Abraham Public Reserve Land managed by the State of Maine. Created through the acquisition of multiple propert  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, May 17 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release: Nineteen rural communities from across the state have been selected to participate in the Commerce Department's program to increase their capacity to plan, implement, and manage economic development programs and opportunities. The Rural Community Capacity (RC2) program, an initiative from the Commerce Department, also involves Appalachian State University's Walker College of Business   more

ALBANY, New York, May 16 -- Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-New York, issued the following news release on May 15, 2024: * * * Five New York Communities will Receive Aid in Accessing Federal Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Thriving Communities Program Awarding $23.6 Million to Help 112 Communities Nationwide * * * Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the award of $1 million under the federal Thriving Communities Program which will aid communities in accessing federal funding and resour  more

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, D-Georgia, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2024, a key step towards designating the Benton MacKaye Trail as a National Scenic Trail (NST) within the National Trails System. The Benton MacKaye Trail is a nearly 300-mile-long route that begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and spans ov  more

MADISON, Wisconsin, May 18 -- The Soil Science Society of America Journal published research articles on the following topics in its May/June 2024 edition (Vol. 88, Issue 3): SPECIAL SECTION: NORTH AMERICAN FOREST SOILS CONFERENCE: - Soil and Ecosystem Processes * Utility of in situ ion-exchange membranes to assess nutrient availability, productivity, and fertilizer response of coastal Douglas-fir of the Pacific Northwest * Influence of barrens restoration treatments on soil carbon, nitroge  more

BLACKSBURG, Virginia, May 15 -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: More than 400 students and faculty gathered in April for the annual Dennis Dean Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Conference to present their work and discuss topics from every college at the university. "It's significant to the students because it allows them to shine as experts in their own right," said Keri Swaby, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. "To communicate and to learn from each ot  more

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vermont, May 18 -- The Vermont Law and Graduate School issued the following news release on May 16, 2024: Vermont Law and Graduate School's Environmental Advocacy Clinic filed suit today in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on behalf of forest protection group Standing Trees. The suit challenges commercial logging projects recently approved by the United States Forest Service in the White Mountain National Forest, in Piermont and Gorham, New Hamp  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $14,070,000 in federal funding for three conservation projects in the Commonwealth. The funding, courtesy of the Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program (FLP), was made possible through annual Land and Water Conservation Funding (LWCF) as well as the Inflation Reduction Act, which the senators helped pass. "We are proud to announc  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $14,070,000 in federal funding for three conservation projects in the Commonwealth. The funding, courtesy of the Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program (FLP), was made possible through annual Land and Water Conservation Funding (LWCF) as well as the Inflation Reduction Act, which the senators helped pass. "We are proud to announce   more

WASHINGTON, May 15 (TNSfact) -- The White House issued the following fact sheet on May 14, 2024: * * * The Biden-Harris Administration Highlights Investments in Rural America, Invites Public Nominations for Rural Innovators Initiative Today, the Biden-Harris Administration will host a Rural Communities in Action event at the White House to highlight how the Administration is investing in rural communities. White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, White House Office of Public Engageme  more