SOLAR:
• Organizers of a utility-backed constitutional amendment that would outline rules for solar power in Florida say they have enough valid petitions to get on the November ballot. (Florida Politics)
• The Energy Information Administration predicts North Carolina, along with California and Nevada, will account for almost 70% of projected utility-scale solar additions in 2015 and 2016 combined. (Zacks Research)
• Greenville joins a statewide campaign in South Carolina to get 2,000 homes to go solar during 2016. (WCSC-TV)
• An analyst at North Carolina State’s Clean Energy Technology Center says value-of-solar studies are key to understanding its importance to the grid and society. (Utility Dive)
NORTH CAROLINA: Those hoping to speak Tuesday night at a quasi-judicial hearing in Asheville about Duke Energy’s power generation plans will need to speak under oath. (North Carolina Public Press)
CLEAN TECH: The head of Charlotte’s energy incubator says it needs to reassess its strategy to be a force in the entrepreneurial community. (Charlotte Business Journal)
NUCLEAR:
• Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good said she expects federal regulators to issue this year a license for it to build a new nuclear plant in South Carolina. (WFAE Public Radio)
• Georgia Power adds contractual protections for customers and affirms targeted in-service dates of 2019 and 2020 for two reactors under construction at its Vogtle complex. (SNL)
CLIMATE: The Monroe County Commission serving the Florida Keys is meeting Tuesday to discuss how it should deal with rising sea levels. (Keys News)
OFFSHORE DRILLING:
• Virginia’s governor listens but provides no signals he’ll back off of his support for drilling off the state’s coast. (The Virginian-Pilot)
• A small North Carolina town shows how elected leaders could face consequences for ignoring widespread opposition to offshore drilling. (Institute for Southern Studies blog)
SUSTAINABILITY: Duke University is on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2024. (Duke Today)
EFFICIENCY:
• Bridgestone is expanding its passenger tire manufacturing plant in North Carolina and plans to build on its ISO 50001 certification for “superior energy performance.” (Reliable Plant)
• There were about 23% more homes in North Carolina rated for a high energy efficiency in 2015 compared to 2014, Census data show. (Residential Energy Services Network)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin joins two industry groups seeking a request to extend the deadline for submitting compliance plan. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• West Virginia and other opponents say they’ll try to freeze the plan with challenge before the Supreme Court. (ClimateWire)
• An environmental group urges the EPA to let energy efficiency and renewable energy compete straight up with traditional utility power plants. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge issues a temporary restraining order preventing a West Virginia county from enforcing a ban on the storage and disposal of oil and gas waste. (West Virginia Record)
• West Virginia producers in the Marcellus shale basin are producing far more natural gas than pipelines can transport. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
COAL ASH: A South Carolina company has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to dump tons of coal ash in Wayne County, Georgia. (The Blackshear Times)
WIND: The owner of a wind power generation system in West Virginia pleads guilty to two federal misdemeanors for failing to take adequate measures to prevent bird deaths. (The Exponent Telegram)
OIL & GAS: A patchwork regulatory structure and aging equipment could result in significant leaks of methane from natural gas storage facilities in West Virginia and other states similar to the on-going catastrophic leak in California. (Inside Climate News)
PIPELINES: The oil industry is pushing back on proposed rules that would require heightened monitoring of pipelines for potential leaks. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News Register)
UTILITIES:
• Piedmont Natural Gas shareholders approve its planned acquisition by Duke Energy. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A vegetation manager for Duke Energy in South Carolina explains how he deals with residents over trees that need to be removed to reduce risks to power lines. (The New York Times)
COMMENTARY:
• Bills introduced in Virginia’s General Assembly show it might get serious about energy efficiency. (Power for the People VA blog)
• Duke Energy needs to put “modern” into its power generation modernization plan. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• The DC Circuit Court’s refusal to block the Clean Power Plan may build pressure for compliance long before the opposition to it ends. (Bloomberg)