NUCLEAR: Consultants reviewing the construction of two reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia say workers are falling farther behind schedule. (Savannah Morning News)

PIPELINES: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to look at alternative paths through national forests in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. (Triad Business Journal)

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SOLAR:
• Utilities poured more than $2 million into their Florida solar ballot campaign last month alone. (News Service of Florida)
• A new ground-mounted solar system is helping supply electricity to ratepayers in western North Carolina. (Smoky Mountain News)
• Dominion Virginia Power presents a plan to build a large solar farm in the same county where it wants to add a third nuclear reactor. (Newsplex)
• A North Carolina town imposes a moratorium on solar farms, amid public testimony including claims that solar panels cause cancer and prevent photosynthesis from taking place. (Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald)
• A North Carolina elementary school is crowdfunding for a solar-powered classroom. (Raleigh News & Observer)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Tennessee is one step closer to significant reductions in utility bills paid by state facilities. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

COAL:
• Displaced miners would get relief under two bills introduced in the U.S. Senate. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)
• A leading bond-rating agency sees no slowing or reversal in 2016 of coal’s dimming future. (Platts)

COAL ASH: Residents of a Virginia county complain about it becoming a dumping ground for Dominion Virginia Power’s coal ash. (Chesterfield Observer)

UTILITIES:
• A decision in a case before the Florida Supreme Court could have far-reaching implications for how utility service territories are set there. (Miami Herald)
• The Duke Energy Board of Directors has added Chairman of the Board to CEO Lynn Good’s responsibilities. (Associated Press)
• North Carolina regulators approve a discounted “job retention tariff” rate for industrial customers. (Charlotte Observer)
• Three years after its acquisition of Progress Energy, the number of job cuts by Duke Energy is too small to trigger regulatory reporting requirements. (Triangle Business Journal)

BLANKENSHIP TRIAL: Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who faces up to one year in prison for a misdemeanor, is to be sentenced April 6. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS: The omnibus spending bill being negotiated in Congress now is likely to include an end to a ban on U.S. oil exports. (The Hill)

COMMENTARY:
• Dominion Virginia Power should be closely held accountable for how it disposes of coal ash. (The Virginian-Pilot)
• South Floridians weigh in on what, if anything, should be done there to mitigate climate change. (Miami Herald)