SOLAR:
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signs into law a bill creating the Virginia Solar Energy Development Authority to facilitate, coordinate, and support the development of the solar energy industry and solar-powered facilities. (Daily Press, Tidewater, Virginia)
• Revising West Virginia’s net metering standards: a boon or bust for the solar industry? (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Dominion Resources bought a 20-megawatt solar facility in Twiggs County, GA, from HelioSage Energy, then secured a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and interconnection agreements with Georgia Power. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• NextEra Energy Resources of Florida, an affiliate of Florida Power & Light Co., is set to build an 81-megawatt solar farm and sell the electricity to Entergy Arkansas. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
CLIMATE:
• Southeast states are watching carefully as the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan faces a high-profile legal test today in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. (Associated Press)
• Florida’s top environmental official Jonathan Steverson rebuts claims the state prohibits use of “climate change” in official communications. (Palm Beach Post)
• Virginia Gov. McAuliffe asserts climate change is an economic issue, not just about health and the environment. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• NextGen Climate blasts Florida Sen. Marc Rubio and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul for ignoring basic science and clean energy job opportunities . (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)
HYDROPOWER: Despite the power generation output, submerged dams that generate electricity are drawing scrutiny for dragging hundreds of unsuspecting swimmers and boaters into their churning waters and drowning them. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• The four men seeking the Republican nomination for Kentucky governor agreed on many key points in a debate including their support for the coal industry. (Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky)
• Once the shining star of its electric generation fleet, Georgia Power closed the coal-fired Plant Harllee Branch to reduce regulatory compliance costs. (The Telegraph, Macon, Georgia)
COAL ASH: A U.S. House committee approved a bill authored by Rep. David McKinley, R-WV, that would let states regulate waste generated from coal burned for electricity, largely bypassing a federal rule issued last year. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES: Former Duke Energy CEO defends utility monopolies in North Carolina and elsewhere saying “it feels pretty good.” (Greentech Media)
OIL & GAS:
• Prosecutors have set up a website for victims of 2014 Freedom Industries oil spill case in West Virginia. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory bashes a federal proposal to include a 50-mile buffer between the coastline and drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean. (McClatchy Washington Bureau)
• About $5 billion of an estimated $7.8 billion has been paid to settle economic losses due to the 2010 BP 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. (Associated Press)
• Republicans in the U.S. House criticized the Obama administration for not plotting enough oil and gas development along the Southeast Atlantic coast. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
SUSTAINABILITY: Durham, North Carolina ranks high among America’s ‘greenest’ cities for environmental quality/pollution, transportation, energy sources and housing density – report. (Triad Business Journal)
COMMENTARY: Mississippi turns a corner in favor of solar energy. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)