COAL ASH: A North Carolina court unsealed parts of lawsuit alleging “a culture of lawlessness” by certain Duke Energy executives in dealing with coal ash. (Triangle Business Journal)
WIND: Wind power accounted for about 5 percent of of the country’s electricity demand in 2014 as its average price in purchased power contracts continued to decline, according to the U.S. Dept. of Energy. (The Hill)
WAVE POWER:
• The infant U.S. wave-to-energy industry looks to build more testing facilities. (ClimateWire)
• Virginia could be harvesting energy from waves like Scotland but any such achievement is far off. (Virginia Public Radio)
SOLAR:
• North Carolina became the fourth state in the country to reach 1 gigawatt of solar photovoltaic capacity. (PV Tech)
• Entergy Arkansas intends to pay a little more than 5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from a proposed solar farm to be built by NextEra Energy of Florida. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• State records show that the utility-backed push to fend off a constitutional amendment for solar choice in Florida is raising far more money than a competing amendment proposed by Floridians for Solar Choice. (Saint Peters Blog)
UTILITIES:
• Jacksonville’s utility is considering changing how it charges customers that could lead to higher bills for those unwilling to conserve electricity. (The Florida Times-Union)
• Duke Energy said the final all-in cost for its newest combined cycle natural gas plant in North Carolina totaled about 18 percent under the original cost estimate in 2010. (Charlotte Business Journal)
POLLUTION: In response to a recent Supreme Court finding, the EPA is planning on revising its mercury rule by including a cost-benefit analysis. (The Hill)
TRANSMISSION: The PJM wholesale power grid, which includes Virginia, is expressing concern over how the EPA’s mercury rule will affect reliability. (Platts)
OIL & GAS:
• Broward County, Florida won’t permit drilling for oil on the edge of the Everglades. (Sun Sentinel)
• Fracking opponents in coastal Louisiana claimed victory when a state judge rejected a company’s drilling permit. (WVUE New Orleans)
• The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, one of the world’s largest oil distribution and storage hubs, is getting even bigger. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Officials in three coastal Carolina towns are set to consider resolutions asking the federal government to drop its proposal for drilling off the Southeast U.S. coast. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
NUCLEAR: A debate over the safety of mining uranium for nuclear reactors has resurfaced with a lawsuit in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
COMMENTARY:
• King George County, Virginia has proposed responsible zoning rules for fracking within its borders. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• A coal industry trade association executive argues not to give up on coal as a fuel for power generation. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• A Sierra Club leader in Tennessee touts how the Clean Power Plan can accelerate the state’s transition to cleaner energy. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)