SOLAR: Voters in Florida overwhelmingly approve Amendment 4 to exempt property taxes on solar equipment owned by residences and businesses. (POLITICO Florida)

ALSO:
• Backers of the successful Amendment 4 pivot to focus their opposition to the utility-backed Amendment 1 on the November 8 ballot. (Orlando Weekly)
• Duke Energy and 33 utility-scale solar developers agree on how to connect systems to the grid in rural areas. (Charlotte Observer)

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NUCLEAR: A consumer group calls on Virginia regulators to require Dominion Virginia Power to obtain approval for a new reactor before charging ratepayers for development costs. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

COAL:
• Nine projects in West Virginia are to receive $10 million between them aimed at revitalizing communities suffering from coal’s decline. (West Virginia Record)
• A research institute in Alabama is developing a strategic plan to develop new business in 19 counties hard hit by the decline of the coal industry. (Tuscaloosa News)
• Two jobs initiatives in Eastern Kentucky are to receive $4.75 million from the federal government to help fund new economic development. (The Hazard Herald, Harlan Daily Enterprise)
• Dominion Virginia Power nears completion of efforts to reclaim a watershed in the Southwest part of the state by reprocessing a large pile of coal waste. (Kingsport TimesNews)

COAL ASH: North Carolina officials hold a hearing tonight in Eden on Duke Energy’s plans to excavate the coal ash that triggered the massive 2014 spill along the Dan River. (Greensboro News & Record)

ACADEMIA: The University of North Carolina chooses an interim director for its new environmental policy center amid concerns over political interference. (Coastal Review Online)

EFFICIENCY: A non-profit outlines how Duke Energy could use its own data to better serve low-income ratepayers with efficiency upgrades. (Southern Environmental Law Center)

PIPELINES: Federal regulators approve Dominion Transmission’s proposed pipeline to supply natural gas from Pennsylvania to a power plant under construction in Loudoun County, Virginia. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

TRANSPORTATION: State officials from North and South Carolina plot how to enable cleaner alternatives including where best to locate electric vehicle charging stations. (Next-Gen Transportation News)

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ETHICS: The Alabama Ethics Commission is to reconsider whether a utility regulator can lease land to a solar company that would sell its electricity to Alabama Power. (Birmingham News)

COMMENTARY:
• It is bad manners to bite the hand that feeds you, especially if it’s the federal government trying to help West Virginia deal with coal’s decline. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s denial of facts in the coal ash management crisis will impact everyone in the state. (North Carolina State Technician)
• Don’t rush to give natural gas too much credit for the decline in carbon emissions. (Power for the People VA blog)
• A West Virginia newspaper argues that Congress should reject the Obama administration’s stream protection rule. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)