SOLAR: Duke Energy is moving quickly to contract for 58 megawatts of solar systems in South Carolina with bids due by mid-October. (Charlotte Business Journal)
EFFICIENCY: Owners of buildings in Atlanta with a combined 100 million square feet have agreed to reduce energy and water consumption 20 percent by 2020 – using 2010 as a baseline. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
CONSERVATION: A group of conservationists called on the White House to postpone oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico until Congress takes action to secure funding from the sales for the Land and Water Conservation Program. (ClimateProgress)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Leaders of the Just Energy Circle in Georgia pressure state leaders to ensure the state’s implementation of the plan equitably balances the social, environmental and economic interests of all communities. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy blog)
CLIMATE:
• A Georgia Tech paleoclimate scientist says children as young as eight need to begin learning about climate change. (WABE Public Radio, Atlanta)
• Norfolk, Virginia is one of the first 10 cities to receive a $25,000 federal grant to improve its ability to handle climate risks. (The Virginian-Pilot)
OIL & GAS: Chevron is cutting jobs at its Covington, Louisiana office as part of global layoffs sparked by low oil prices. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
COAL ASH:
• Environmental groups ask a judge to freeze proceedings in several lawsuits involving the disposal of coal ash in unlined clay pits in North Carolina. (Triad Business Journal)
• The safety contractor for the cleanup of the 2008 coal-ash spill at the TVA’s Kingston coal plant knew the ash was toxic but didn’t take steps to protect workers, a lawsuit alleges. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
COAL:
• Steve Forbes predicts any coal industry revival depends on a Republican winning the White House in 2016. (SNL Energy)
• Climate philanthropist George Soros invests millions in two top U.S. coal producers, whose stock prices had been hovering around $1 per share. (The Guardian)
2010 BP OIL SPILL: Nearly $8 million of recovery funds went to 32 government entities that are more than 100 miles from the Gulf coast, in places like the Mississippi Delta and suburbs of central Alabama. (Associated Press)