COAL ASH: The owners of an Alabama landfill withdraw a $30 million lawsuit targeting neighboring residents who opposed dumping coal ash there; the ACLU had called the suit an example of “systematic racial and environmental injustice.” (AL.com, InsideClimate News)

ALSO: 
• Duke University researchers find elevated levels of an element found in coal ash in fish from three North Carolina lakes. (Herald-Sun)
• Developers of a proposed North Carolina coal ash facility withdraw their plans and reject claims that the location was chosen because it was in a minority neighborhood. (Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald)

COAL: A federal investigation finds West Virginia officials have repeatedly failed to enforce environmental rules. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

SOLAR:
• A new report finds there are twice as many jobs in the solar industry than in coal, with Florida and North Carolina among leaders in new job creation. (Vox, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Raleigh News & Observer)
• A Florida senate committee advances a bill to implement tax breaks for solar approved by voters under Amendment 4. (Florida Politics)
• Atlanta-based UPS plans a five-fold increase in the amount of solar energy generated at its facilities. (Atlanta Business Journal)
• An event today will mark the completion of a solar project on Georgia property owned by former President Jimmy Carter. (Associated Press)
• Officials in a Tennessee county advance a 6.3 MW solar farm. (Johnson City Free Press)
Expanded use of solar and electric vehicles are part of Nashville’s plan to become the “greenest city in the Southeast.” (Nashville Public Radio)

PIPELINES: A Virginia group files a lawsuit targeting a compressor station on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Kallanish Energy)

OIL: Mississippi’s state senate approves a bill creating a special fund to ensure BP spill settlement money is spent specifically on Gulf Coast projects. (Mississippi Today)

UTILITIES:
• State regulators approve a $318 million rate increase for a Florida utility to pay for damages from Hurricane Matthew. (Orlando Weekly)
• Kentucky regulators criticize a rural co-op for nepotism; four employees are related to the company’s CEO. (WKU)

COMMENTARY: A conservative case for climate action. (New York Times)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.