WIND: Amazon plans to buy energy to power its data centers from a large wind farm in North Carolina developed by Iberdrola Renewables. (Fortune)
GRID: An “improbable, but not impossible” cyber assault on the U.S. power grid could cripple regional economies for weeks, asserts a new report. (Greentech Media)
EFFICIENCY: Electricity demand is projected to grow at the slowest rate in the TVA’s 82-year history negating the need to build a base load generating plant until after 2030. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
TRANSMISSION: Opposition may be forming to a high voltage transmission line near Asheville, North Carolina proposed by Duke Energy. (Triad Business Journal)
SOLAR: North Carolina stands to benefit if Congress extends the current 30% investment tax credit beyond 2016. (Charlotte Business Journal)
CLIMATE: Georgia acknowledges climate change in updating its wildlife management plan. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
BP OIL SPILL SETTLEMENTS:
• Gulfport, Mississippi accepted a $4.4 million offer to settle its claim against BP. (The Sun Herald)
• Sarasota, Florida commissioners voted unanimously Monday to accept a $3.2 million settlement from BP. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
• The West Bank levee authority in Louisiana accepted a $2 million settlement with BP. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Florida City accepted a $1 million settlement from BP. (Miami Herald)
UTILITIES: A look back at how federal antitrust law shifted control of utilities in Northeast Tennessee from private companies to municipalities. (Johnson City Press)
COMMENTARY:
• The TVA’s 2015 Integrated Resource Plan confirms energy efficiency, solar, and wind power are competitive with natural gas and coal. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
• Earning credits for a solar system producing excess power helps promote energy competition – opinion. (The Charleston Gazette, West Virginia)
• The Pope’s encyclical draws much needed attention to the need to act on climate change – opinion. (Rome News-Tribune, Georgia)