SOLAR: Florida voters in today’s primary election decide on Amendment 4, which would exempt the value of solar systems from commercial and personal property taxes. (Mother Jones, The Florida Times-Union)

ALSO:
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe commissions the first community solar project in the state. (Augusta Free Press, Southeast Energy News archive)
• A startup in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park says its patent-pending technology could boost the efficiency of solar panels. (WRAL TechWire)

EFFICIENCY:
• After 14 years, developers of a pioneering upscale sustainable community in Virginia reflect on lessons learned from the project. (Southeast Energy News)
Rural community leaders ask the TVA for more energy efficiency programs. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

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CLEAN POWER PLAN: A former North Carolina lawmaker says the Clean Power Plan presents an opportunity for energy innovators to find ways to help the state comply. (Charlotte Business Journal)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: U.S. regulators warn drillers to find solutions to the growing failure of bolts in subsea equipment used in the Gulf.  (Greenwire)

BIOMASS: Kentucky regulators rescind an order that would have allowed a controversial wood-burning power plant to proceed. (WKYU Public Radio)

WIND: A subsidiary of Southern Co. buys a 147-megawatt wind system in Oklahoma from Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

UTILITIES: Advocates ask West Virginia regulators to require FirstEnergy to prove that a coal-fired power plant in the state is the cheapest source of power. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

PIPELINES: Opponents of pipelines slated to cross through Virginia follow Gov. Terry McAuliffe at his latest public appearance. (The News Virginian)

CLIMATE: Pensacola, Florida is set to launch a Climate Change Task Force to promote sustainability. (Pensacola News Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A church in Newport News, Virginia offers four new charging stations to demonstrate its passion for creation care. (Mennonite World Review)

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WEST VIRGINIA: A West Virginia University professor says six counties are mired in a “great depression” due mostly to coal’s decline. (Metro News of West Virginia)

COMMENTARY:
• Utilities in Virginia and elsewhere are using “Orwellian Newspeak” to turn people against rooftop solar. (Solar Marketing Review blog)
North Carolina’s environmental chief defends Gov. Pat McCrory’s handling of its coal ash management challenges. (WRAL)
• Does Dominion support using Thomas Jefferson’s name to spread climate denial? (Energy and Policy Institute)
• North Carolina should do more to tap into biogas. (StarNews)

CORRECTION: An item in yesterday’s digest erroneously said Florida’s Amendment 4 is backed by utilities. 

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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