SOLAR: Duke Energy says it will end up overpaying solar developers $1 billion for the energy they generate over the next dozen years in North Carolina. (Charlotte Observer)
ALSO:
• South Carolina solar projects are in limbo as lawmakers consider new tax breaks. (The State)
• A Georgia regulator warns that a bill to weaken regulatory authority over utility resource plans could effectively kill solar in the state. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• An Alabama school will receive about one fifth of its daytime energy needs from a new solar array. (Birmingham Business Journal)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: North Carolina withdraws from a lawsuit challenging the Clean Power Plan. (North State Journal)
NUCLEAR:
• A Japanese newspaper reports that Westinghouse, which is building new reactors in South Carolina and Georgia, could file for bankruptcy. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Florida’s Supreme Court declines to hear a case challenging the revocation of state approval for a nuclear plant expansion. (St. Augustine Record)
COAL:
• Coal companies recast themselves as part of the climate change solution. (New York Times)
• Neighbors of an Alabama power plant sue over pollution from coal dust. (Courthouse News Service)
• A closer look at the technology in use at the Kemper “clean coal” plant in Mississippi. (Meridian Star)
• As a Kentucky coal town turns 100, its leaders look to the future: “The city was built by coal but it can be maintained by something else.” (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• A federal appeals court refuses to grant a rehearing of an appeal that upheld former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship’s conviction for mine safety violations. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
FRACKING:
• Virginia lawmakers have dropped legislation that would have exempted fracking chemicals from public disclosure. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A company that invested heavily in West Virginia shale plays is seeing an uptick in drilling. (The Intelligencer)
EFFICIENCY: An effort in Memphis aims to reduce the burden of high energy costs on poor households. (Pacific Standard)
CLIMATE: In South Florida, planning for sea level rise has become “mainstream.” (Sun Sentinel)
RENEWABLES: A Florida produce stand runs entirely on solar and wind power. (Miami Herald)
COMMENTARY:
• It’s time for West Virginia to move on creating a post-coal economy. (Register-Herald)
• “There is no emergency that requires changing Kentucky’s net-metering law now.” (Lexington Herald Leader)