CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• The impact of the Clean Power Plan on industry will vary. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Opponents are expected to challenge the plan via bureaucratic, legislative and legal challenges in both federal and state courts. (The Hill)
• “Confident” they will prevail, opponents of the new plan led by West Virginia’s Attorney General assert its legal foundation is “very shaky.” (Associated Press)
• The National Mining Association formally asked the Obama administration to stay the Clean Power Plan pending judicial review. (The Hill)
• A Q & A about the plan answers questions such as: What happens if a state doesn’t comply? (Associated Press)
• Energy efficiency measures won’t earn credits under the final plan and natural gas won’t play as big a role as envisioned (EnergyWire)
• President Obama pledged to address coal’s legacy liabilities and provide new economic opportunities in Appalachia and elsewhere. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
VIRGINIA: An aide to Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the final Clean Power Plan for Virginia eased emissions targets for the state compared to the rules proposed in 2014. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
WEST VIRGINIA: Elected officials in the Mountaineer state appear unanimous in their plans to prevent implementation of the Clean Power Plan. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
KENTUCKY: Politicians and residents decry the potential impact of the Clean Power Plan on coal-dependent communities in the eastern part of the state. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
TENNESSEE: The soon-to-be-operational Watts Bar 2 nuclear reactor looks to play a key role in the state’s compliance with the Clean Power Plan. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Two nuclear reactors under construction in the Palmetto State could ease its compliance with the Clean Power Plan, along with renewable sources and natural gas. (The State)
SOLAR: Demand for roof-top solar in Louisiana is booming with the expiration after 2016 of both state and federal tax credits. (The Times-Picayune)
COAL: Virginia-based coal producer Alpha Natural Resources filed Monday for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy court. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
PIPELINES: A unit of Florida-based NextEra Energy makes its first-ever investment in pipelines in part to transmit gas from Texas to Mexico. (Bloomberg)
STARTUPS: Private investors in New Orleans join to launch a new business accelerator geared toward Louisiana oil and gas startups. (The Times-Picayune)
OIL EXPORTS: Support in Congress for lifting the nation’s decades-long ban on the export of crude oil “is picking up steam,” U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-LA, said Monday. (The Times-Picayune)
COMMENTARY:
• The Clean Power Plan provides a path for a safer climate and catalyst for clean energy jobs in the Southeast. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
• Clean energy is a political juggernaut; should it leave climate change behind? (Vox)
• BP oil spill settlement money for Alabama should be spent on coastal initiatives, not relegated to the state’s general fund. (Alabama Media Group)