SOLAR: Environmental and clean-energy groups decry TVA’s decision to cut what it pays for solar-generated power. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
ALSO:
• Parsing the debate over two proposed Constitutional amendments in Florida about solar can be complicated. (Miami Herald)
• “YieldCos” — companies formed mostly to own solar systems generating predictable cash flows — face money challenges. (PV Magazine)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A new life-cycle analysis demonstrates how much cleaner EVs are compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Sixteen colleges, including the University of Alabama, are retrofitting Chevrolet Camaros with fuel-effiicient technologies. (Hoover Sun)
• The second-generation Chevrolet Volt earns a 2016 Green Car of the Year award. (Detroit Free Press)
WIND:
• The CEO of the company proposing to build the Arkansas’ first wind farm and who served prison time in Oklahoma was sentenced to probation in two other cases. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
• A second person involved in a bid to build Arkansas’ first wind farm also has a history of legal troubles, according to court records. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
• A computer-generated simulation helps Virginians envision how 25 wind turbines would look in the Blue Ridge mountains. (The Roanoke Times)
• Presidential candidate Donald Trump tells an Iowa audience he’s “OK” with the Production Tax Credit for wind systems. (The Hill)
GRID SECURITY: An industry simulation of a widespread blackout illustrates how vulnerable the North American power grid is to cyber attacks. (EnergyWire)
CLIMATE: West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito and other senators vow to block any U.S. spending on a global climate fund. (Reuters)
COAL: The TVA leads the nation’s utilities in the amount of coal-fired power generation it plans to shut down. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
POLLUTION: Arkansas must reduce its currently allowable emissions from power plants by about half by 2017 under the proposed Cross-State-Air Pollution Rule. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
BLANKENSHIP TRIAL:
• A judge denies a motion for a mistrial as jurors resume deliberating today in the federal criminal trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. (Associated Press)
• Jurors request clarity on the use of two oft-cited words during the trial’s closing arguments. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A reporter looks back on Don Blankenship’s coal record in Kentucky. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
OFFSHORE DRILLING:
• Advocates and opponents of drilling off Georgia’s coast square off in front of a decision to come from a single federal official. (Morris News Service)
• Leaders of coastal jurisdictions from Virginia to Florida take their case against drilling off their coastlines to Washington. (Environment America)
• The oil industry hosts a seminar for North Carolina lawmakers to promote drilling off the state’s coast. (Wilmington Star-News)
UTILITIES:
• The TVA begins work on a natural gas-fueled power plant near the site of a former coal-burning plant in Tennessee. (Memphis Daily News)
• The TVA sees its net income skyrocket to $1.1 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30 on flat electricity sales; top Board members and certain employees are awarded millions in bonuses. (The Chattanoogan; The Daily Herald)
• A unit of Duke Energy that develops and sells wind and solar systems to other utilities is thriving. (WFAE Public Radio)
OIL & GAS: Louisiana has lost 8,800 jobs since October 2014 mostly due to the oil and gas downturn. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
COMMENTARY:
• Natural gas and nuclear energy must play the lead roles in meeting carbon emission goals in Mississippi and many other states. (Mississippi Clarion-Ledger)
• North Carolina should heed a threat from the EPA to take over certain environmental regulations in the Tar Heel State. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• There are at least three reasons to shut down Georgia Power’s Hammond coal plant. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)