EFFICIENCY: A Charlotte efficiency program becomes the model for a national energy-savings push from the White House. (Charlotte Business Journal)
POLICY: A proposed budget compromise from North Carolina lawmakers would eliminate the state’s 35 percent tax credit on solar and other renewable projects. (Charlotte Business Journal)
CLIMATE: A coalition of advocates pushes the White House to stop fossil fuel leasing on public lands, including Atlantic offshore oil reserves. (Newport News Daily Press)
SOLAR: A North Carolina church is planning a 5 MW solar project on a nearby pasture. (Gaston Gazette)
COAL ASH:
• A judge rejects North Carolina regulators’ efforts to prevent Duke Energy from moving ash from three power plants. (Al Jazeera)
• Coal ash removal at the Dan River plant could begin this fall. (Greensboro News & Record)
COAL:
• The assessed value of West Virginia’s coal reserves and mining infrastructure has fallen more than $1 billion since 2013. (Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register)
• West Virginia officials seek to lower taxes on mining equipment. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A judge orders a Kentucky coal executive to stop harassing safety inspectors. (Lexington Herald Leader)
FRACKING: A North Carolina county moves to block fracking shortly after a survey reveals potential for shale development. (Winston-Salem Journal)
TRANSPORTATION: A Mississippi town considers whether to allow low-speed golf carts to operate as taxis. (Oxford Citizen)
COMMENTARY:
• A closer look at the fossil fuel groups attacking net metering. (Media Matters)
• Florida solar policy “is not an issue that should be decided by the special interest with the deepest pockets.” (Tampa Bay Times)