NATURAL GAS: In response to a court ruling that FERC did not consider the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the plants when approving a pipeline project, Florida Power & Light said coal consumption would be increased if access to natural gas was curtailed. (Palm Beach Post)
POWER PLANTS: In a new report, the Energy Department said the government should make it easier and cheaper to operate coal and nuclear power plants. (Associated Press)
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NUCLEAR: Selling South Carolina’s state-owned utility in an effort to recoup costs from the abandoned Summer nuclear project would still leave billions of dollars of debt. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• A class action lawsuit wants to require Santee Cooper to sell parts of a coal-fired power plant it abandoned in South Carolina seven years ago and pay back customers with the proceeds. (Post and Courier)
• President Trump’s denial of a relief request for Murray Energy earlier this week signals trouble for West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal of a $4 billion federal subsidy for Eastern coal. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
PIPELINES: A federal judge ruled natural gas pipeline companies must repair some erosion along their pipeline canals in Louisiana or compensate the landowner for the damages. (Times-Picayune)
SOLAR:
• The 120 MW-AC Gulf Coast Solar Center, which is the largest combined portfolio of solar facilities on U.S. Department of Defense property to date, was completed this week in northwest Florida. (Solar Industry)
• Sixteen colleges in Virginia plan to increase their solar energy capabilities thanks to federal funding. (WRIC)
UTILITIES: Researchers from the University of Alabama and across the Southeast are studying the Tennessee River’s floods from the past 10,000 years to help utilities prepare for threats against dams and nuclear plants. (phys.org)
EPA: Business lobbyist and ex-environmental regulator Trey Glenn has been appointed as the EPA’s new regional administrator to oversee eight Southeastern states. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: The only reason the Trump administration would end a federal study into the possible health effects of living near coal mines in Appalachia is to please the coal industry – and that reason is not good enough. (Lexington Herald Leader)