TRANSMISSION:
• The Department of Energy signs off on a partnership to develop a 705-mile transmission line to carry wind-generated electricity to the Southeast. (New York Times)
• Lawmakers from Arkansas, a state that has opposed the project, call the decision “unprecedented executive overreach.” (The Hill)
• Construction of the project is set to begin in 2017, creating hundreds of jobs in Arkansas and Tennessee. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• Check out these photos of large-scale systems at airports serving Chattanooga and Tampa. (Solar Power World)
• Tallahassee, Florida is poised to sign off on a 20 megawatt solar farm near its airport. (WFSU Public Radio)
***SPONSORED LINK: It’s time to register for WINDPOWER 2016 – the wind energy industry’s largest annual conference. This year, the conference will be held from May 23-26 in New Orleans. Register here. ***
CLEAN POWER PLAN: West Virginia’s Attorney General personifies the fight against the plan by states and coal-dependent utilities. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
EFFICIENCY:
• A new apartment building for seniors is the first net-zero energy certified facility in Virginia. (The Roanoke Times)
• A utility wants to charge a Florida community about four times the private rate to switch its streetlights to LED bulbs. (Sun Sentinel)
COAL ASH: A Virginia town is not giving up in pressing for a criminal investigation of how Dominion Virginia Power disposes of untreated wastewater. (Bacon’s Rebellion blog)
FRACKING: A West Virginia county allows temporary – but not permanent – storage of drilling chemicals. (The Register-Herald)
COAL:
• Convicted coal mine boss Don Blankenship refuses to turn over financial documents and invokes his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Despite a decline in West Virginia’s unemployment rate, counties dependent on coal mining see their jobless rates going up. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News Register)
• State officials are investigating the death of worker at a coal mine in eastern Kentucky. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Why a Virginia coal plant is expected to survive the industry’s downturn. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
COMMENTARY:
• Continuing to comply with the Clean Power Plan will better serve North Carolina’s interests than waiting for the courts to resolve legal issues. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
• Whom will the public side with in south Florida’s growing debate over mitigating rising sea levels? (The Weekly Standard)
• The Virginia governor is right to push continued for work on the state’s compliance with the Clean Power Plan. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• North Carolina officials who favored drilling off the state’s coast were no match for activists and communities, although the Obama administration certainly helped. (Greensboro News & Record / Wilmington StarNews )