SOLAR:
• A new coalition launched a ballot initiative to counter a separate group’s proposed constitutional amendment to expand the use of solar energy in Florida. (News Service of Florida)
• Georgia Power will build 30 megawatt solar plant at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. (PV Magazine)
SUSTAINABILITY:
• See which Southeast states are running into the red with Mother Nature burning fossil fuels and other activities. (National Geographic)
• Tanger Factory Outlet Centers of North Carolina launched a sustainability push for its U.S. locations, including electric vehicle charging stations and solar energy generation. (Triad Business Journal)
• Owners of large commercial buildings in Atlanta prepare to comply by July 20 with a new requirement to report energy and water usage. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
EFFICIENT LIGHTING: A maturing market for LED bulbs is compelling North Carolina-based Cree to restructure. (Greentech Media)
UTILITIES:
• Does the lack of retail choice by electricity users in Southeast states stifle energy innovation? (Greentech Media)
• Duke Energy is trying boost customer rolls by luring technology firms to its service areas with a San Francisco-based executive. (Charlotte Business Journal)
ENERGY STORAGE: A North Carolina lawmaker appealed to colleagues about the potential of emerging storage technologies with a pitch from a Swiss-based manufacturer. (The Fayetteville Observer)
NUCLEAR: Are next-generation molten salt reactors that burn thorium safer than reactors under construction in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee? (Forbes)
COAL:
• Walter Energy in Alabama, as anticipated, filed for bankruptcy. (Tuscaloosa News)
• How Walter Energy’s coal mining business deteriorated leading up to Wednesday’s bankruptcy filing. (SNL)
• A judge in West Virginia orders a mining company to supply water eight months after its operations polluted area water supplies. (The Charleston Gazette)
• How a West Virginia attorney is waging a decades-long fight against coal mining throughout Appalachia. (Greenwire)
PIPELINES: In their ongoing bid to site the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, developers now are taking aim at a state wildlife management area in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
CLIMATE: An alternative weekly in Tennessee offers a primer on climate change. (The Pulse, Chattanooga)
OIL: Four members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation are urging the White House to help settle claims with Taylor Energy over an 11-year-old oil leak. (Associated Press)
BP SETTLEMENTS:
• Southeast Louisiana has the opportunity to turn BP oil spill settlement funds into “a long-term economic driver.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Public agencies in the New Orleans area have agreed to accept about $240 million in BP settlements, including $10.5 million that the Plaquemines School Board and $1.5 million that Covington accepted this week. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Miami-Dade County officials voted to accept $2.5 million from BP to recoup revenue lost because of the 2010 Gulf spill. (Miami Herald)
COMMENTARY:
• Why renewable energy firm executives and public officials were celebrating yesterday in North Carolina, but not Virginia. (The Washington Post)
• A former North Carolina lawmaker calls for a declaration of energy independence. (The Charlotte Observer)