SOLAR: Dominion expands an alliance with Amazon Web Services with 180 MW of new solar planned in five Virginia counties. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
ALSO:
• Alabama Power defends its $20-$25 monthly fee to solar users who sell electricity back to its grid. (Anniston Star)
• The founder of the non-profit that is launching co-ops throughout Virginia and other states celebrates its 10,000th kilowatt installed. (Solar Novus Today)
• The defeat of Florida’s Amendment 1 may be boosting interest in rooftop solar there. (WFTV)
• The recent acquisition of North Carolina-based FLS Energy by Cypress Creek Renewables reflects growing interest in utility-scale solar. (Greentech Media)
• Bedford, Virginia plans a 20-acre solar farm on a landfill. (Bedford Bulletin)
CARBON CAPTURE: Technologies that capture and store carbon from more than just coal plants draws interest from an array of businesses. (ClimateWire)
COAL ASH: Alabama Power’s plans to close 12 ash ponds at six power plants and cover them in place draws a quick rebuke from an activist. (Alabama Media Group, WPMI)
OIL & GAS: Florida rejects a bid to drill an exploratory well in five acres of the Everglades. (SunSentinel)
COAL:
• Producers in Appalachia of “met” coal for making steel see a bright future if calls for boosting infrastructure bear fruit. (Reuters)
• The former owner of a now defunct West Virginia mine where 12 were killed in a 2006 explosion may be President-elect Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary. (Alternet)
NATURAL GAS: Louisiana utility commissioners approve Entergy’s application to build a nearly 1,000 MW power plant about 30 miles from New Orleans. (Associated Press)
WIND: The TVA studies whether to buy wind-generated power in Oklahoma transmitted by the planned Clean Line project. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
CLIMATE:
• Improving Florida’s infrastructure could mean helping protect its environment. (Miami Herald)
• Researchers home in on how much it could cost to protect the Hampton Roads region from rising sea levels. (The Virginian-Pilot)
PIPELINES: Businesses rally to counter protests against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and thank Gov. Terry McAuliffe for his support. (The News Virginian)
NUCLEAR: A water safety coalition claims reactors planned in South Georgia overly burden the Chattahoochee River and will inflame “water wars” between Georgia, Florida and Alabama. (Gainesville Times)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: A bill in Congress that would include Virginia on offshore oil and gas revenue hits a roadblock as both of its senators vote against it. (Virginian-Pilot)