PIPELINES: Futures prices for gasoline jump 15% due to the deadly Colonial fuel pipeline explosion in Alabama with pump prices in Georgia and the Carolinas expected to follow. (Birmingham Business Journal, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Charlotte Observer)
ALSO:
• Colonial Pipeline has a history of operational problems. (Wall Street Journal)
• If attendance at a hearing is any gauge, few Pittsylvania County, Virginia residents seem concerned about the proposed path there for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (GoDanRiver.com)
NATURAL GAS: Duke University says it is uncertain whether it will proceed with a proposed natural gas fired combined heat and power plant even if the project gets state approval. (Southeast Energy News)
FLORIDA:
• If you add contributions to key legislators, Florida utilities have spent close to $43 million since January 2015 to promote Amendment 1 and otherwise limit rooftop solar there. (Miami Herald)
• Former Sen. Bob Graham adds his name to the growing chorus urging voters to reject Amendment 1 next Tuesday. (ThinkProgress)
• NextEra, the parent company of Florida Power & Light, seeks to soften an image problem in its new pursuit of the largest utility in Texas. (Wall Street Journal)
COAL:
• Mississippi Power discloses an additional $29 million in costs to build the Kemper “clean coal” plant bringing the latest total to more than $6.9 billion. (WDAM)
• Three organizations in southwest Virginia detail a wish list of projects for federal funds to revitalize distressed mining communities. (Kingsport Times News)
• The EPA says it could take more than two years to plan a court-mandated report on projected job losses tied to its regulations. (The Hill)
SOLAR:
• New rates by a Louisiana utility could mean during summer months it would be cheaper not to use power generated by residential rooftop systems. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• Virginia Tech scientists try to develop a flexible solar panel. (Newswise | Virginia Tech)
NUCLEAR: Georgia regulators are to vote next month on whether to give Georgia Power customers a $325 million rate reduction tied to a settlement over rising costs of two reactors under construction. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
POLITICS: North Carolina’s Jay Faison leans how little $175 million can buy in trying to foster Republican solutions to climate change. (Bloomberg)
COAL ASH: Duke Energy starts construction of a lined landfill at the site of its 2014 ash spill along the Dan River in North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)
FRACKING: Opponents hold a summit today at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers. (WMNF)
WIND: Developers of the Clean Line transmission project aiming to move wind-generated power to Southeast states select GE to supply high-voltage converter stations. (Recharge)
COMMENTARY:
• Kudos to Duke University researchers for discrediting fears about the alleged cancer-causing elements of coal ash. (The Weirton Daily Times)
• Dominion Virginia Power needs to find a better way to supply electricity to the historic James River region than building 44 massive transmission towers. (The Washington Post)