SOLAR: Duke Energy says its rural substations are close to maximizing their ability to accommodate large solar farms in North Carolina. (Raleigh News & Observer)
ALSO:
• As large-scale systems installed by Georgia Power multiply, it has installed only five home rooftop systems during the first year under a new law. (Greentech Media)
• North Carolina lawmakers sit on bill aimed at resolving a dispute over third-party financing of projects. (Southeast Energy News)
• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory announces 155 new energy equipment manufacturing jobs headed for Halifax County. (WNCN)
• A second bulk-purchasing cooperative in Nelson County, Virginia sees a continued drop in costs for participants. (The Daily Progress)
• The developer of a Florida community to be powered by solar offers land to a university for research. (Naples Daily News)
• Residents of Gainesville, Florida are to gain charging stations for mobile devices powered by solar. (The Gainesville Sun)
COAL ASH:
• A second South Georgia landfill reports elevated levels of a potentially hazardous metal that activists claim is due to coal ash dumped there. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Time may be running out for North Carolina lawmakers to reach a compromise on how to update its coal ash cleanup law. (WFAE Public Radio)
• Meet the activist getting sued for complaining about an ash dump in Alabama. (Grist)
• Stakeholders await a North Carolina county’s next moves over ash disposal within its boundaries by Duke Energy. (The Anson Record)
NUCLEAR:
• Climate change is altering how many stakeholders view nuclear energy as the TVA’s Watts Bar 2 reactor adds low-carbon power to the grid. (The Washington Post)
• Officials in North Carolina herald a new facility to make concrete casks for storing spent radioactive fuel rods. (The Outer Banks Voice)
CLIMATE:
• Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina are among 13 signing a letter urging other states to drop their probe of climate change research by ExxonMobil and other oil companies. (Fuel Fix)
• In a landscape dominated by big-money, this citizen lobbyist from North Carolina embodies a unique approach stressing the need for legislative action. (Winston Salem-Journal)
FRACKING: Activists in Appalachia press the EPA to regulate waste from hydraulic fracturing. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory urges the federal government to finish reviewing applications for seismic testing. (Coastal Review Online)
NATURAL GAS: After long relying on coal for power generation, Virginia Tech plans a shift to natural gas by 2020. (The Roanoke Times)
COAL: A judge in West Virginia rules a utility lobbyist and former EPA official can testify in a miner’s suit against the agency. (The Hill)
OIL & GAS: A trial is set to open in New Orleans dealing with the deaths and damages from a 2012 explosion on a drilling rig off Louisiana’s coast. (Associated Press)
LOUISIANA: Oil and gas layoffs continue to dominate job losses. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
COMMENTARY:
• Speculation focuses on Florida-based NextEra Energy’s interest in Texas’ largest utility, Oncor. (The Dallas Morning News)
• A wildlife advocate argues against a controversial wind energy system proposed for Cumberland County, Tennessee. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• There is no perfect route for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline through Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Dominion Virginia Power’s environmental chief makes the case for keeping coal ash stored at a large power plant. (The Virginian-Pilot)