COAL ASH:
• Coal ash claims are distinguishing Gov. Pat McCrory’s re-election bid against Attorney General Roy Cooper. (InsideClimate News)
• Dominion Virginia Power signals an option for disposing of ash currently stored near the Elizabeth River versus capping it in place. (The Virginian-Pilot)
TECHNOLOGY: A Virginia company says its technology can tap smart meter data to significantly increase the grid’s capacity to host wind and solar power systems. (Southeast Energy News)
FLORIDA:
• The campaign in Florida to pass Amendment 1 ramps up with advertisements blanketing the airwaves and newspapers. (The Hill)
• Some early and would-be voters in Florida say they are seeing through the claimed benefits of Amendment 1 and plan on voting against it. (CBS4 Gainesvile)
• Two elected officials call on voters to reject Amendment 1. (Free Speech Radio News)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Non-seismic testing is set to begin off South Carolina’s coast. (The Post and Courier)
CARBON CAPTURE: ExxonMobil and Fuel Cell Energy select a Southern Company power plant in Alabama to test a fuel cell carbon capture technology. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES: The rising “benchmark” price for natural gas prompts a North Carolina utility to seek a nearly 10% rate hike. (Charlotte Business Journal)
NUCLEAR: The parent of South Carolina Electric & Gas reportedly aims to use accelerated tax deductions to ease upward pressure on rates for two reactors under construction. (SNL Energy/Charlotte Business Journal)
PIPELINES: Activists gear up for public sessions this week in southwest Virginia to field comments about the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. (Roanoke Times)
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Solar energy is considered a key to diversification of the economy in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. (Virginia Business)
COAL: A federal judge today hears details of a potential settlement over a 2014 spill of a coal-cleansing chemical in southern West Virginia. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: Here’s the back story of a solar farm in North Carolina that is part of the largest aggregated commercial renewable energy deal in the Eastern U.S. (Green Biz)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mississippi prepares to call for payment of loans from a failed electric vehicle startup launched in part by now Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. (Roanoke Times)
COMMENTARY:
• There’s a reason the Florida’s solar Amendment 1 currently is the second most expensive ballot initiative there ever. (SunSentinel)
• Regulators, the Sierra Club and Mississippi Power should be commended for reaching a consensus solution on net metering. (Sun Herald)
• It’s time to pull the plug on the Kemper “clean coal” power plant in Mississippi. (The Dispatch)
• A solar advocate in Florida challenges utilities to answer six questions about their true intentions if Amendment 1 passes. (Women4Solar.com)