SOLAR:
• Mississippi Power says three new solar systems approved by state regulators will help lower customers’ rates. (Mississippi Business Journal)
• A North Carolina firm wins contracts to build solar systems for Alabama Power at two Army bases. (Birmingham Business Journal)
• Utilities in Florida up the ante in their bid to defeat third-party solar sales there. (Tampa Bay Times)
PIPELINES:
• The CEO of Dominion Resources says neither of its utilities in Virginia nor North Carolina can meet emissions cuts under the Clean Power Plan without the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A judge will hear arguments tomorrow as developers try again to use eminent domain for construction of the proposed Palmetto Pipeline. (Florida Times-Union)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Utilities and regulators from the South and elsewhere discuss how to maintain reliability under the Clean Power Plan. (Utility Dive)
COAL:
• Despite power plant retirements, demand for coal in 2016 in the U.S. will be roughly unchanged from this year. (Bloomberg)
• Alpha Natural Resources is trying to eliminate health and other non-pension benefits for about 4,500 non-union retirees as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• It remains to be seen how Walter Energy’s bankruptcy will impact workers. (Birmingham Business Journal)
• Clergy members discuss a “spiritual crisis” as coal’s decline disrupts the identities of Appalachian communities. (National Catholic Reporter)
COAL ASH: Duke Energy has paid $92 million of the fines and restitution stemming from its Dan River coal-ash spill with a remaining $10 million still owed for wetlands mitigation. (Charlotte Business Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• Here’s how new nuclear power crowds out new renewable sources of power generation in Virginia. (Power for the People VA blog)
• The TVA has fallen short of is promise to seriously consider stakeholder inputs on how to value solar energy. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• A climate activist and a religious leader call on North Carolina regulators to authorize solar sales to a small church there. (Raleigh News & Observer)