COAL: Industry groups challenge the conviction of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, saying it wrongly puts any coal executive at risk of criminal liability. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
ALSO:
• Southern Co. takes issue with claims in a report by The New York Times asserting it tried to hide problems at its troubled “clean coal” plant in Mississippi. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Arch Coal, with operations throughout much of Appalachia, announces support of unsecured creditors in its bit to exit bankruptcy. (The Wall Street Journal)
• West Virginia’s senators plot a vote this fall to continue pension and health benefits for retired coal miners. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)
EFFICIENCY:
• After a slow start, PACE financing is picking up in Florida. (Southeast Energy News)
• The Birmingham, Alabama city council will consider a multimillion-dollar partnership with Trane to improve the efficiency of city buildings. (Birmingham Business Journal)
• Administrators of Greene County, Tennessee schools tally the economic benefits of a four-year lighting efficiency program. (WCYB)
BIOMASS:
• Some farmers in Virginia are exploring how to harvest tobacco for biofuels. (The Guardian)
• A university explores whether harvesting affects wildlife. (North Carolina State University)
EMISSIONS: With Atlanta now in compliance, a six-state region in the Southeast complies with the federal ozone standard limiting emissions from power plants and tailpipes. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
SOLAR:
• Developers plan a large solar farm on a former South Carolina landfill and toxic waste disposal site. (Waste 360)
• Utility-controlled solar is the real driver behind its growth in Georgia and North Carolina, while net-metering is boosting home systems Mississippi. (Reuters)
• About one-tenth of 1 percent of utility customers in Florida generate some of their power with solar. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Utilities backing a proposed solar amendment to Florida’s Constitution have raised a total of $15.7 million through June. (Florida Politics)
• Florida Power & Light will hear stakeholder input on a proposed 1,300-acre solar farm stretching across two counties. (The Gainesville Sun)
• Chambers County, Alabama authorizes a $100 million investment in a solar system. (Opelika-Auburn News)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy Progress seeks a 15 percent hike in its base rates tied to its investments in solar and other cleaner energy sources. (Charlotte Observer)
NATURAL GAS: Natural gas and solar are closing in on coal as sources of power generation in Kentucky. (The Land Report)
OIL & GAS: Louisiana is among states cutting budgets and raising a variety of taxes to make up for a shortfall in oil and gas tax revenue. (The Hill)
CLIMATE: More experts say the warming climate makes flooding more likely. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
COAL ASH: A battle over an ash disposal at an Alabama landfill plays out on social media. (InsideClimate News)
COMMENTARY:
• When is an 11.5 percent profit for utility shareholders too much? We’re about to find out in Florida Power & Light’s bid for a 24 percent rate hike. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• The controversy over the viability of Southern Co.’s “clean coal” plants illustrates the pitfalls of inadequate oversight of utilities. (Vox)
• Are rural electric coops driving or just dabbling in community solar? (Clean Technica / Institute of Local Self-Reliance)