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)