FLORIDA: Solar advocates hail voters’ rejection of a controversial solar initiative after it fails to clear the required 60% threshold. (Floridians for Solar Choice, Miami Herald)
TRANSIT: Voters across the Southeast approved ballot measures yesterday to expand public transportation in growing metro areas, rejecting only two of ten proposed tax increases and bonds for public transit investments. (Southeast Energy News)
NORTH CAROLINA: In a race that could impact how North Carolina regulates coal ash, Attorney General Roy Cooper holds a narrow lead this morning over Gov. Pat McCrory. (Charlotte Observer)
WEST VIRGINIA: State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a leading litigant against the Clean Power Plan, wins re-election. (West Virginia MetroNews)
VIRGINIA: After earning a $20 million loan from the state, voters reject a referendum on a light rail system in Virginia Beach. (The Virginian-Pilot)
SOLAR:
• The head of utility in Lafayette, Louisiana asks the city council to repeal an ordinance that imposes fees on rooftop solar owners. (ABiz)
• A Georgia county extends a moratorium on installations at least through May while it develops policies to regulate them. (WALB)
COAL: Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-WV, presses the White House to reconsider its proposed “stream protection” rule. (The Ripon Advance)
COMMENTARY:
• The Trump presidency will erase Obama’s initiatives, including the Clean Power Plan. (Slate)
• The growth of renewables worldwide is good news for energy-hungry South Carolina and the world. (The Post and Courier)
• Here’s the problem with the Colonial pipeline and America’s fuel transportation networks. (Forbes)
• Before the election results were known, this author asked if Atlantic drilling is dead? (WorkBoat)
CORRECTION: A report carried in yesterday’s digest about North Carolina regulators’ rulings on how Duke Energy connects solar systems to the grid has been corrected here by PV Magazine.