SOLAR:
• Amazon secures approval for its planned 80 megawatt solar system on Virginia’s Eastern Shore peninsula. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Five megawatts of planned solar systems on Knox County, Tennessee public buildings are projected to save it $29 million over 30 years. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
UTILITIES: A North Carolina advocacy group is testing state law by selling power directly to a church. (Charlotte Business Journal)
CLIMATE:
• Al Gore rallies support for climate action in Florida and blasts utilities for blocking consumer choice on solar. (Saint Peters Blog)
• A new survey by GOP pollsters shows 54 percent of self-described conservative Republicans believe the world’s climate is changing and mankind is playing a role. (The New York Times)
• Republican mega-donor Tom Faison steps up his call for conservatives to support action on climate change. (Associated Press)
COAL ASH:
• Georgia Power says it’s working on a plan to close all 29 of its ash ponds. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• North Carolina’s $25 million coal ash fine against Duke Energy could hinge on a 2011 memo. (Triad Business Journal)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators grant 20-year extensions on operating licenses for both reactors at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. (Associated Press)
VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS VIOLATIONS:
• The company’s Chattanooga plant could face job cuts if sales decline. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• One estimate of a death toll from Volkswagen’s higher diesel emissions approaches those killed by GM’s ignition defect: 124 lives lost. (The New York Times)
COAL:
• A leading “clean coal” lobbying shop is cutting half its staff and reorganizing to reflect the U.S. coal industry’s market losses. (Politico)
• With demand declining, stockpiles of coal for power generators throughout Central Appalachia are growing. (Platts)
COMMENTARY: There are many commercially available energy choices that can help Virginia meet its federal targets under the Clean Power Plan. (The Virginian-Pilot)