CLIMATE:
• Alabama Power reaches pact with the EPA to close three coal-fired power plants and convert four others to natural gas. (Alabama Media Group)
• Federal agencies are boosting data sets and other resources to help communities become more resilient to climate disruptions. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy blog)
COAL ASH: Virginia agrees to $2.5 million settlement with Duke Energy over the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill. (Associated Press)
COAL: Appalachian Power says converting three retired coal-fired power plants challenged by the West Virginia PSC to natural gas would cost $64 million. (The Charleston Gazette)
CUBA: The communist island wants to clean up parts of its fuel supply, moving from crude oil to a portfolio of wind, sun and sugar cane. (EnergyWire)
NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a measure facilitating the conversion of a Duke Energy coal-fired power plant to one that burns natural gas. (Charlotte Business Journal)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: After years of lofty promises, Wall Street believes renewables can produce a payoff. (The Wall Street Journal)
SOLAR:
• Sunrun, the rooftop solar developer expanding into the Southeast U.S., is planning an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. (Bloomberg)
• An Episcopal church in Decatur, Georgia is drawing on its rooftop solar system to balance the books, help protect the local environment and echo the Pope’s encyclical. (Southeast Green blog)
COMMENTARY:
• Virginia’s Dan River coal ash settlement with Duke Energy amounts to a slap on the wrist. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
• Amazon’s planned solar power plant in Accomack County, Virginia could set a precedent for future data centers’ energy supplies in the PJM power grid. (Bacon’s Rebellion blog)
• A carbon tax might be acceptable as part of a tax reform plan that eliminates current revenue sources. (The Wall Street Journal)