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)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. 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 worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. 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. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.