SOLAR:
Florida passes North Carolina for solar industry jobs. (Charlotte Business Journal)
Florida is a top Koch brothers target for defeating rooftop solar. (Rolling Stone)
North Carolina’s environmental chief likens the challenges of disposing of coal ash to decommissioning solar panels. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Several legal briefs opposing the proposed Constitutional amendment in Florida backed by utilities argue it exposes consumers to discriminatory charges and rates. (Utility Dive)
• Tampa Electric unveils its first large solar system on airport parking lot canopies. (Tampa Bay Tribune)
• Here are several aerial photos of homes in Savannah, Georgia powered in part with rooftop solar systems. (Savannah Morning News)

STORAGE: A municipal utility in Kentucky is becoming a proving ground for a new energy storage-solar management system. (Utility Dive)

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COAL ASH:
• A judge today hears arguments by environmental groups challenging the reduction of North Carolina’s fine imposed on Duke Energy for disposal violations from $25 million to under $7 million. (Associated Press)
• Environmental groups in North Carolina win one, lose one in coal ash lawsuits. (Fayetteville Observer)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Most utility trade groups agree the Supreme Court’s stay extends the legal wrangling but probably not the ultimate need to comply with the plan. (EnergyWire)
• The stay issued by the Supreme Court delays the plan’s requirements and could set it up for repeal by the next Congress and President. (National Public Radio)

SUSTAINABILITY: Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee challenges residents to save energy as part of a new sustainability push. (Memphis Flyer)

ADVOCACY: North Carolina businessman Jay Faison finds prodding Republicans to forge profitable, clean energy, solutions can be very expensive. (Independent Journal Review)

CLIMATE: The head of the Nature Conservancy ventures into Alabama to pitch a carbon tax. (Huffington Post)

R&D: A Nashville company opens a facility at Louisiana State University to help commercialize next-generation energy systems. (Baton Rouge Advocate)

COAL:
• A Mobile, Alabama company sues the city after it rejected a plan to temporarily store coal near homes and schools. (Alabama Media Group)
• Dominion Virginia Power is awarded $21 million in a lawsuit against a North Carolina company over sub-standard coal. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

OIL & GAS: There may be natural gas somewhere in North Carolina, but samples pulled from three counties indicate there are no deposits there. (Fayetteville Observer)

NUCLEAR: The head of the TVA downplays cost overruns to complete the Watts Bar 2 reactor. (Nashville Public Radio)

WEST VIRGINIA: The state moves closer to cutting taxes on its coal and natural gas companies despite a deepening revenue shortfall. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

POLICY: A new bill in Congress would prohibit drilling off the lower Atlantic coast. (Climate Progress)

ACADEMIA:
• A behind-the-scenes look at Virginia Tech’s power plant. (Collegiate Times)
Cheap electricity sold to the University of Georgia undermines the incentives to conserve it. (The Red & Black)
Researchers at Virginia Tech are trying to use human waste to generate electricity. (WVTF Public Radio)

PIPELINES:
• The Kentucky Supreme Court denies a pipeline developer’s bid for eminent domain power. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• A bill for state inspections of interstate gas pipelines is moving through the Virginia House with no opposition. (The Roanoke Times)

COMMENTARY:
• Virginia needs a safe, long-term, solution for disposing of coal ash waste. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Georgia Power’s 20-year plan will cut its adoption of renewable energy. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• It’s time for Kentucky to stop resisting, and to start benefiting from the clean energy revolution. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• The lag in rooftop solar throughout most of the South is due mostly to utilities’ influence with state regulators. (Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Georgia needs to streamline its process for developing offshore wind energy. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• How the Tar Heel State’s clean energy progress is threatened by officials backing fossil fuels and nuclear. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
Virginia opponents of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline should start sharing ideas about where it should be located. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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