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COAL ASH:
• Duke Energy’s directors and executives knew its coal ash ponds were seeping toxic chemicals into North Carolina soil and rivers for years, previously sealed documents in a shareholder lawsuit show. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A Virginia county asks the state to deny Dominion Virginia Power’s plan to flush treated coal-ash water into a major creek. (Prince William Today)
• Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities are spending about $1 billion between them to close and cap ash ponds through 2023. (Associated Press)
• Louisville Gas & Electric to seek a rate hike to help pay for closing coal ash ponds. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Once one of the top markets for EV ownership, registrations in Georgia are off by 90 percent since a $5,000 tax credit was rescinded July 1. (GPB News)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Tennessee may be neutral about the plan but it is on track to easily meet targeted emissions cuts. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
SOLAR:
• A solar plant under construction will be the first in North Carolina deploying thin-film modules that track the sun. (Semiconductor Today)
• A developer plans two multi-megawatt solar projects in South Carolina. (Area Development)
WIND: Local leaders in Tennessee hope the turbines of a 71 megawatt wind farm under construction will spread the word about their appetite for more clean energy. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
RENEWABLES: A Virginia bill would set a property tax credit equal to 35% of the installed cost of a qualifying renewable energy system. (Powered by Facts blog)
POLLUTION: North Carolina hits back at the EPA’s threat to revoke its Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act permitting authority. (Charlotte Observer)
FRACKING:
• A perceived lack of enforcement contributes to a West Virginia county’s decision to ban the disposal of fracking waste. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A West Virginia commission recommends the industry conduct “meaningful internal safety reviews.” (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• The western part of West Virginia is the focus of a gas company’s drilling program in 2016 despite the glut. (NGI’s Shale Daily)
NUCLEAR:
• Miami-Dade County launches a probe of whether industrial cooling water from Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point nuclear reactors are seeping into Biscayne Bay. (Miami Herald)
• A House committee approves a bipartisan bill to fund research currently conducted by the private sector. (The Hill)
• The chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it is keeping a close watch on whether plant safety is being compromised by cost-cutting. (Platts)
OIL & GAS:
• The industry’s financial hardship is likely to deepen, a new study predicts. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The industry’s downturn may be worse than the decline in the mid-1980s. (The Advocate)
LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS: The nation’s first export terminal in Louisiana faces a glut of natural gas on world markets. (BloombergBusiness)
COAL:
• Free of debt, Arch Coal could pull out of bankruptcy relatively quickly, if the supply of coal tightens. (EnergyWire)
• The House approves a bill that would block a new federal regulation designed to reduce coal mining’s impact on the nation’s streams. (Associated Press)
• A roundup of Duke Energy’s ongoing efforts to reduce its reliance on coal. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• A profile of a Kentucky coal miner illustrates how a life around coal is hard to break free from. (National Public Radio)
PIPELINES: A filmmaker debuts a documentary about the proposed Palmetto Pipeline planned through Georgia. (Augusta Chronicle)
COMMENTARY:
• Florida lawmakers must show leadership in addressing rising sea levels. (Florida Times-Union)
• What the Plant Vogtle nuclear facility under construction in Georgia ultimately will cost depends on when and what and whom you ask. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• Processing hog waste to generate electricity is a hopeful sign of change for North Carolina. (Fayetteville Observer)