SOLAR:
• Facing almost $19 million in spending by utilities to pass it, a diverse coalition launches a bid to defeat Florida’s solar Amendment 1. (Florida Politics)
• Duke Energy acquires six solar projects in Georgia totaling 4.7 megawatts from SolAmerica Energy. (PV-Tech)
POLICY:
• North Carolina is dropped from the final version of U.S. EPA’s cross-state pollution rule after modeling shows it’s no longer linked to downwind pollution. (Greenwire)
• Shelby County, Tennessee looks to update local regulations governing access to water for cooling a power plant operated by the TVA. (Memphis Flyer)
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WIND: Cycling champion Greg LeMond partners with a carbon fiber manufacturing pioneer and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to explore lighter and stronger turbine blades. (Windpower Engineering & Development)
NATURAL GAS:
• A developer applies to build a 1,400-megawatt gas-fired power plant along the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, Virginia. (The Virginian-Pilot)
• Miami-based Carnival Corp. looks to purchase next-generation cruise ships powered by liquefied natural gas. (Florida Trend)
COAL:
• Miners rally as West Virginia’s congressional delegation renews its push for a bill to rescue the United Mine Workers pension and health care program. (Associated Press, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Virginia-based AES Corp. drops its global plans for new coal-fired power plants. (Platts)
• Mississippi Power eyes final steps before starting its Kemper “clean coal” power plant set for late October. (SunHerald)
• A new study finds the labor force in eastern Kentucky has declined 20 percent over the last decade due largely to the decline in coal mining and related jobs. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: A new study concludes major rainfalls like the one in Louisiana last month are more likely due to human-caused climate change. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
OIL & GAS: Louisiana’s attorney general refuses to approve a contract with the governor’s chief fundraiser to lead lawsuits against oil and gas companies over coastal land loss. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: A Virginia congressman coordinates a successful vote in the House to mandate internet-based auctions for leases. (The Hill)
PIPELINES:
• Residents in the path of the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline from Alabama to Florida spark an outcry over environmental justice. (Newsweek)
• Dominion’s pipeline subsidiaries lock out 915 union employees in Virginia, West Virginia and four other states over their refusal to vote on a tentative four-year contract. (GoDanRiver.com)
NUCLEAR: An environmental group urges the TVA to pull back on its plan to sell the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Alabama for which bidding is to begin Monday. (WTVC, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
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2010 BP OIL SPILL:
• Alabama lawmakers approve a plan to spend the state’s nearly $1 billion in settlement funds, including paying down state debts. (Associated Press)
• The rupture of an oil pipeline in southern Louisiana this week was caused by a contractor working on a restoration project tied to the spill. (WDSU)
COMMENTARY:
• West Virginia’s future could be sunny with solar energy if it only would choose it. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• What to consider before buying a solar system in South Carolina. (The Post and Courier)
• A community meeting about a solar bulk-purchasing co-op illustrates the growing interest in cleaner energy in Gloucester County, Virginia. (Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal)