COAL ASH:
• Critics protest as Duke Energy submits plans to leave coal ash in place at six basins in North Carolina where it hasn’t already announced closure plans. (Charlotte Observer)
• Duke Energy has disposed of the first million of more than 7 million tons of coal ash in North Carolina. (StarNews Online)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: A newly formed alliance representing 12,000 businesses along the Atlantic Coast arrive in Washington today to urge President Obama to stop drilling leases before he leaves office. (Southeast Energy News)
PIPELINES:
• Critics say the proliferation of interstate natural gas pipelines in the Southeast and elsewhere puts ratepayers on the hook to pay for them. (Southeast Energy News)
• Opponents of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines in Virginia say their job just got a lot tougher with Donald Trump headed for the White House. (Roanoke Times)
• Groups in Alabama, Florida and Georgia move to appeal the planned Sabal Trail fuel pipeline as authorities arrest protesters. (Florida Record, Gainesville Sun)
COAL:
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tamps down hopes that President-elect Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress can resurrect the coal industry. (ThinkProgress)
• Regardless of steps to be taken by President-elect Trump, cheap natural gas will continue to drive coal’s decline, experts say. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Ending the so-called “war on coal” is not expected to bring jobs back to Appalachia. (Lexington Herald-Leader / Miami Herald)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: How President-elect Trump could help kill the plan. (Washington Post)
SOLAR:
• With panel costs declining, anticipation grows about Florida utilities’ next moves to hinder investments in rooftop systems. (Miami Herald)
• A startup in Charlotte expands its efforts to develop loan products for residential solar projects. (Charlotte Business Journal)
WIND:
• The developer of a second large wind farm in northeast North Carolina receives a key permit and sets construction to begin in 2018. (Triangle Business Journal)
• A developer doesn’t expect new energy policies from President-elect Trump to derail its large wind farm in southwest Virginia. (The Roanoke Times)
POLICY:
• The PAC run by North Carolina’s Jay Faison spent about $4.8 million to help win 13 of the 15 races in which it endorsed candidates. (E&E Daily)
• With plausible policy changes, communities ravaged by coal’s decline can become centers for small-scale clean energy, some experts say. (The Daily Climate)
ELECTION: Voters in southwest Virginia’s coal country see President-elect Trump as their only hope. (Washington Post)
FLORIDA: What Donald Trump’s energy and environmental policies could mean for the state. (SunSentinel)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy agrees to pay $27 million to settle shareholder claims of an allegedly secret plan to oust its CEO shortly after it acquired Progress Energy. (Charlotte Business Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• South Carolina must get over any dreams of big oil riches and recognize its riches are in its natural beauty. (The Post and Courier)
• Is fracking in central Virginia worth the risks? (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• Even under President-elect Trump, market forces should keep Georgia on a path to “green” its economy. (Savannah Morning News)
• As many other localities approved transit initiatives, the rejection by voters for a light rail system in Hampton Roads means officials need to figure out how to compete against them. (The Virginian-Pilot)