CLIMATE: Kentucky’s energy secretary Len Peters secretary urges dialogue with the U.S. EPA on Clean Power Plan compliance. (WUKY Public Radio)
SOLAR: Several large solar projects in North Carolina look to export electricity to deregulated states in the PJM wholesale power grid. (Charlotte Business Journal)
ENERGY STORAGE: Randolph-Macon College is the host of Dominion Virginia Power’s first integrated solar and energy storage system. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
HYDROPOWER: TVA is still seeking cause of leak in the Boone Dam in Tennessee. (Johnston City Press)
NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE:
• Opponents take new shots at renewable energy requirements in North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Democratic legislators in North Carolina are pushing for energy bills that would extend tax credits for solar, encourage conservation and create a loan fund for solar projects. (The News & Observer, Raleigh)
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE: The Florida House adjourned for 2015 leaving bills dealing with hydraulic fracturing and Duke Energy Florida in doubt. (Saint Peters Blog)
OIL & GAS: Cumberland County, North Carolina citizen group joins protests against the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (The Fayetteville Observer)
COAL:
• A new tool tracks the impact of mountaintop removal on communities. (Associated Press)
• Federal mine safety inspectors have issued more than 14,000 citations and 1,200 orders since the April 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia killed 29 coal miners. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
COMMENTARY:
• The president of the National Audubon Society argues BP’s claims of a clean Gulf of Mexico after its 2010 oil spill stray far from the truth. (Palm Beach Post)
• In an op-ed, Obama asserts the U.S. no longer can delay action on climate change. (Miami Herald)
• Columnist Susan Ladd argues North Carolina should continue to lead on solar energy. (News & Record, Greensboro)
• A retired anti-poverty worker contends fracking releases radon gas so quickly it poses a heightened risk of lung cancer. (Lexington Herald-Leader)