Alex Milan Tracy for Underscore
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The dozens of independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organizations that make up the Rural News Network are developing the broadest news alliance reporting on rural America. These newsrooms are pursuing coverage that provides a more complete picture of what it means to live and work in these communities.
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LATEST NEWS FROM THE NETWORK
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In North Carolina, conservative clean energy supporters don’t think Trump will follow through on threats
November 22, 2024
Despite Trump’s vague promise to curtail the Inflation Reduction Act, the head of Conservatives for Clean Energy believes congressional Republicans will preserve most of Biden’s signature climate law because of its benefits in rural areas.
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As sprawl threatens farmland, proposed Maine rules single out just one competing land use: solar
June 05, 2024
Some advocates say the rules unfairly single out clean energy based on limited data, but they hope the fees could help funnel development toward brownfields and less productive farmland.
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This county is California’s harshest charging ‘desert’ for electric cars. Local activists want to change that
May 22, 2024
In Imperial County, residents have access to few public chargers and buy electric cars at only a fifth of the statewide rate.
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As Ohio clamps down on clean energy, recent changes make it easier to force landowners to allow oil and gas drilling
May 15, 2024
Streamlined legal requirements and economic factors explain the jump in orders since 2020 to let petroleum companies drill on dissenting owners’ land.
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Virginia lawmakers reached a compromise on energy efficiency – here’s what it will mean for utilities and regulators
April 29, 2024
Advocates say the tool required under the new law should make energy saving programs by Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power more transparent and effective.
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New EPA rules close a ‘huge loophole’ on coal ash, forcing wide-scale cleanup, advocates say
April 25, 2024
A pair of new regulations finalized Thursday are expected to require cleanup of coal ash pollution at all known locations where the toxic byproduct has been dumped.
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Illinois rural electric co-op customers seek clarity, consistency from ‘Solar Bill of Rights’
April 24, 2024
The proposed legislation started small but now aims to address a wide range of common frustrations facing rural electric cooperative customers who install solar panels.
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Ohio landowners say solar opposition groups threaten their property rights
March 21, 2024
Cousins Richard Piar and Ethan Robertson want to lease land to a developer for a 120 megawatt solar project in Knox County, but anonymously funded opponents are trying to block the project.
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Months after devastating floods, Vermont renews efforts to aid climate-friendly rebuilds
March 20, 2024
A program saw mixed success encouraging heat pumps and other upgrades in damaged homes in the wake of the disaster. Now groups are revisiting those same residents to work on long-term improvements.
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Our best clean energy stories of 2023
December 20, 2023
Check out ten of our best Energy News Network stories from the past year, from tackling toxic coal ash in Puerto Rico to electrifying buildings in snowy Maine.
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‘Massive’ federal solar investment could mean big utility savings in Kentucky coal country
November 28, 2023
Advocates see an Inflation Reduction Act program as a critical opportunity to help low-income communities – from its largest cities to its rural Appalachian counties – reap the benefits of solar power.
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Advocates press Wisconsin regulators to reconsider natural gas plant need
November 13, 2023
Dairyland Rural Electric Co-op says a large new natural gas plant is necessary to support renewables and grid reliability. Advocates say times have changed.
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Ohio oil and gas industry accident data boost worries about drilling under state parks
October 19, 2023
Spreadsheets show more than 800 releases of gas, oil, brine or other materials from industry activities onto the ground or into the air and water since 2018 began.
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In Puerto Rico, residents wait for accountability, cleanup of toxic coal ash ‘caminos blancos’
October 10, 2023
A Virginia-based power company sold its coal ash to local governments and contractors in Puerto Rico as a cheap material for road construction. Almost two decades later, dust and runoff from this coal ash continues to spread toxic and radioactive pollution in rural communities along the island’s south coast.
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Massachusetts seeks to streamline approvals for community choice aggregation
October 04, 2023
Nineteen communities across the state are waiting for public utility regulators to rule on proposed community choice aggregation plans, in which local governments negotiate with power suppliers for lower prices or a higher share of renewables.
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