PIPELINES:
• Advocates look to Governor-elect Roy Cooper to scrutinize the Atlantic Coast Pipeline route through North Carolina more closely than his predecessor. (Southeast Energy News)
• An expo to recruit contractors to help build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia draws protesters. (Southside Daily)
POLICY:
• President-elect Trump says he “digs coal” but his Cabinet choices favor natural gas. (McClatchy)
• Reports indicate President-elect Trump now is expected to select Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-MT, to head the Dept. of Interior, not Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA. (Utility Dive)
FRACKING: The EPA reverses course concluding that fracking can contaminate drinking water. (New York Times)
COAL:
• Duke Energy says it will recycle as much as 6 million tons of coal ash that is slated to buried in a controversial mine reclamation project in North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A regulator says ratepayers should not be on the hook for cost overruns at Mississippi Power’s Kemper “clean coal” power plant. (Meridian Star)
• Two men have been sentenced in a fraudulent scheme to bilk investors aimed at mining “blue gem” coal. (Johnson City Press)
SOLAR:
• The Hattiesburg area is becoming a hub for large solar systems selling their electricity to Mississippi Power. (Hattiesburg Business Today)
• A solar array helps cut energy costs at an emergency rescue shelter in South Carolina. (Aiken Standard)
• A co-op in Newport News is the latest in Virginia to offer bulk purchase discounts to homeowners interested in rooftop systems. (Virginian-Pilot)
COAL ASH: Officials in a West Virginia community lift a do-not-drink order after its water supply was compromised by an ash waste spill. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
NORTH CAROLINA: Energy and environmental stakeholders watch for clues who Governor-elect Roy Cooper will appoint to several key posts as he prepares to assume office Jan. 1. (Coastal Review Online)
UTILITIES: The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is allowed to intervene in a closely-watched rate case involving Gulf Power. (NorthEscambia.com)
EFFICIENCY: An energy conservation push by a wastewater plant in Alabama could net a city almost $100,000 per year in savings. (Alexander City Outlook)
COMMENTARY:
• The ban issued last week by the Interior Dept. on mountaintop coal mining along a ridge line in Tennessee will help protect wildlife and preserve the Emory River. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• Google’s claim that it will power 100% of its operations remotely with renewables in part from North Carolina amounts to greenwashing. (Huffington Post)
• Accidents and lax environmental controls at Louisiana’s oil refineries should serve as a warning to President-elect Trump. (Truth-out.org)
• President-elect Trump’s choice to head the EPA may want to go easy on coal but he should heed the legal responsibilities of the office. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)