SOLAR:
• The Florida restaurant and lodging industry trade group joined other business groups in support of the proposed solar choice constitutional amendment on the state’s 2016 election ballot. (Saint Peters Blog)
• Opponents of the proposed solar choice constitutional amendment announced support for their competing proposal from three groups. (Saint Peters Blog)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Led by West Virginia’s Attorney General, 16 states have formally requested that the EPA suspend the Clean Power Plan until legal actions against it run their course. (The Huntington Herald-Dispatch)
• An enticement in the plan to earn extra credits for faster deployment of renewables and energy efficiency could reduce opposition to it from states heavily dependent on coal-fired power. (InsideClimate News)
• A bill that would invalidate the Clean Power Plan Wednesday passed a Senate committee but remains a long shot. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Here are the Clean Power Plan’s emissions targets for several states in the Southeast U.S. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy blog)
WIND:
• Three South Carolina colleges have received $1.5 million in federal and state grants to study wind energy off the state’s coast. (WMBF, Myrtle Beach)
• A battle of the annexation of property in Arkansas could determine the fate of the state’s first wind energy system. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
COAL ASH: Duke Energy is trying to dismiss a lawsuit calling for coal ash from one of its North Carolina power plants to be disposed of in a lined landfill. (Winston-Salem Journal)
COAL EXPORTS: Coal exports from terminals in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region in July were down 13.4% from June and 42.6% lower than the year-ago month. (Platts)
WEST VIRGINIA: Most in-state media are reacting predictably to the Clean Power Plan but ignore market shifts away from coal. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
UTILITIES: North Carolina regulators approved Duke Energy’s plan to build two fast-starting natural gas turbines near Wilmington. (Charlotte Business Journal)
CLIMATE: A dispute between two environmental scientists is creating a controversy over how much methane is leaking from natural gas production and is contributing to global warming. (InsideClimate News)
VIRGINIA: State and local officials today are slated to formally break ground on a controversial 778-megawatt, natural-gas fired, power plant in northern Virginia owned by Panda Power Funds of Dallas. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• A Georgia Public Service Commissioner offers three reasons why the Clean Power Plan is bad for the state and the U.S. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• The Clean Power Plan promotes the health of people and the planet. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• A West Virginia newspaper says the Clean Power Plan is a “power grab” that state leaders should oppose. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)