SOLAR: A Kentucky lawmaker tables a controversial solar bill ahead of a key hearing, and the measure is likely dead for this session. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

ALSO:
• Four Charlotte-area schools are receiving grants to install solar panels from Duke Energy’s multi-million settlement in 2015 of Clean Air Act violations. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A Florida utility reveals more details about its major solar expansion. (News Service of Florida)
• A Florida city unveils a new 2 MW solar array atop a former landfill. (Palm Beach Post)

EFFICIENCY: Virginia efficiency advocates try again to update the state’s building code amid pushback from homebuilders. (Southeast Energy News)

COAL ASH:
• Pending bills in Georgia are part of a broader movement across the Southeast to keep imported coal ash out of landfills. (Southeast Energy News)
• A Virginia lawmaker seeks a one-year “cooling off period” on ash removal permits to further study impacts. (Chesterfield Observer)

COAL:
• A bill to cut safety inspections at coal mines advances to the Kentucky House. (Lexington Herald Leader)
• The United Mine Workers sent a letter to retired miners warning them that their health benefits won’t continue unless West Virginia lawmakers intervene. (WV Public Broadcasting)

FRACKING: In north-central Arkansas, fewer earthquakes have been reported since a 2011 disposal well moratorium. (Arkansas Online)

NATURAL GAS:
• Mississippi Power’s Kemper project shows how cheap natural gas is slowing the development of “clean coal.” (Inside Sources)
• Analyists predict utility demand for natural gas will decline in coming years amid competition from renewables. (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES:
• Residents who live along the Sabal Trail pipeline in Florida have unresolved safety concerns about the project as construction continues. (WGCU)
• Opponents of West Virginia’s Mountain Valley Pipeline say not enough information is known about the project’s environmental implications. (Register-Herald)
• A two-week protest walk is planned in Virginia and North Carolina along the route of Atlantic Coast Pipeline in opposition of the project. (The Daily Herald)

NUCLEAR: Georgia Power has stopped preliminary work on a a proposed nuclear project in Stewart County, according to a letter filed with state regulators. (EnergyWire, subscription/free trial required)

GRID: Kentucky utilities launch a 1 MW energy storage demonstration site. (Utility Dive)

CARBON CAPTURE: An Alabama research firm receives an $800,000 federal grant to develop commercial chemicals from carbon dioxide and shale gas byproducts. (news release)

COMMENTARY:
• The director of pollution control for Miami-Dade County says it is a mistake that the Florida Supreme Court refused the addition of two nuclear reactors to FPL’s plant. (Miami Herald)
• As Florida’s legislature begins, lawmakers are reminded residents “spoke loud and clear at the ballot box about solar energy.” (Tampa Bay Times)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.