CLIMATE:
• More candidates in Florida – Republicans and Democrats – are touting their ideas for mitigating climate change. (The Hill)
• A group of citizens concerned about climate change are touring four Southeastern states to make the case for market-based responses. (Alabama Media Group)
NUCLEAR: The TVA says its Bellefonte plant in Alabama will be sold during a live auction Nov. 14. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will host a webinar/Q&A October 19 at 10 a.m. EDT featuring info and new tools designed to help communities and advocates fight coal ash threats in the Southeast. Register here.***
SOLAR:
• South Carolina regulators approve the region’s first “shared” solar program aimed at low-income customers. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• A tally in South Carolina finds there are at least 830 solar systems in the state producing a total of more than 5 megawatts of energy. (Statehouse Report)
• Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia completes its first two homes equipped with rooftop systems. (Connection Newspapers)
• Orange County, Florida works with two non-profits to launch a bulk-purchasing co-op. (The Apopka Voice)
• More than 270 Georgians sign up to have their homes assessed for rooftop systems. (Marietta Daily Journal)
• Stakeholders set a meeting in Naples, Florida Tuesday night to combat passage of Amendment 1. (Cape-Coral Daily-Breeze)
COAL ASH:
• Duke Energy acknowledges some ash escaped from an inactive storage basin at its Lee power plant in North Carolina as an environmental group challenges its safety inspections. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Regulators in Virginia direct Dominion to step up monitoring of groundwater at a large coal ash pond near the Potomac River. (Inside NoVA)
PIPELINES:
• Residents in a poor community along Alabama’s Gulf coast have been complaining of nausea, nosebleeds and vomiting after leaks from a natural gas pipeline eight years ago. (Los Angeles Times)
• Citizens in Buckingham County, Virginia speak out against a large compressor station that would help push natural gas through the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Augusta Free Press)
• The Sierra Club in Florida spearheads a rally against the Sabal Trail Natural Gas Pipeline. (Creative Loafing Tampa Bay)
EFFICIENCY: A new national survey finds low-income households in Memphis, New Orleans and Birmingham pay proportionately more for energy than the average U.S. household. (Memphis Flyer)
COAL:
• Alpha Natural Resources sells two properties in Kentucky. (Associated Press)
• Georgia Power delays demolition of the seventh tallest smokestack in the world due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew. (Union Recorder)
COMMENTARY:
• Here is the corporate cash behind Florida’s solar Amendment 1 ballot measure. (Facing South)
• Louisiana’s disappearing coastline should compel new maps of land mass in the state. (Business Insider)
• Fracking should have no role in Virginia’s energy future. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
• The owner of a TV station in North Carolina urges voters to back candidates who will act for renewable energy and repeal a law limiting environmental action. (WRAL)