COMMENTARY:
• In an editorial, a leading newspaper in Kentucky calls the state’s senior Senator and the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “misguided” and “at odds with most Americans” on climate change.  (The Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky)
• How Virginia can leap from a laggard to a leader in the high-growth, jobs-intensive advanced energy industry. (The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Virginia)
• Dominion’s natural gas gamble looks risky for ratepayers in Virginia (Power for the People VA blog)

CLIMATE:
• NextGen Climate asserts it’s time for Presidential candidate and Florida Sen. Marc Rubio to show leadership on dealing with climate risks. (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)
• Marc Rubio on climate change: the threat does not justify pursuing policies that he contends would harm the economy. (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)
• Former South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis is to receive the JFK Profile in Courage Award for reversal on climate change and outreach for a revenue-neutral carbon tax to deal with it. (The Post and Courier, South Carolina)

SOLAR:
• A Tampa Bay group promotes a return to constitutional government and free markets but it opposes a proposed Florida constitutional amendment that would encourage the use of solar energy. (Saint Peters Blog)
• A budget “crisis” in Louisiana threatens the reduction or elimination of the state’s solar energy tax credit. (WVUE-TV, New Orleans)
• The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs said Thursday that a Little Rock, Arkansas solar panel project is “operational and working well” despite reports of troubles and an inquiry by a state lawmaker. (Stars & Stripes, U.S. Dept. of Defense)
• North Carolina lawmakers and counties weigh the pros and cons of further boosting the state’s and Duke Energy’s investments in solar energy. (Shelby Star, North Carolina)
• Solar energy in Robeson County, North Carolina has become big business and the trend looks to continue. (The Robesonian, Lumberton, North Carolina)

COAL:
• Coal producer Xinergy Ltd. and 25 subsidiaries with mining operations throughout Virginia and West Virginia have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing declining demand for coal and increased environmental regulation. (Associated Press)
• Arkansas utilities are preparing to contest federal regulations and the Clean Power Plan proposal to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants claiming it would cost them more than $1 billion. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
• West Virginia’s Attorney General is confident the law will side with states’ opposition to how the Clean Power Plan would cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. (The Intelligencer, Wheeling, West Virginia)

COAL ASH: Opponents turn out in force against Duke Energy’s plans for coal ash storage in North Carolina. (The Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina)

OIL & GAS:
• A North Carolina legislator has filed a bill that would prevent companies from drilling for natural gas on a person’s property without the landowner’s consent. (The News-Record, Rockingham, North Carolina)
• The Obama administration proposed new regulations aimed at strengthening oversight of offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere and ensuring that out-of-control wells can be sealed in an emergency. (Associated Press)
• One newspaper’s assessment of oil drilling off South Carolina’s coast and how it meshes with the state’s energy future. (The Moultrie News, East Cooper, South Carolina)
• Marc Rubio’s opposition to an omnibus bill that, among other things, secured funds to restore the Gulf of Mexico after the BP deepwater oil spill, draws scrutiny from Louisiana lawmakers. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
• West Virginia regulators are to cite Williams Energy for “conditions not allowable in state waters” after the company’s pipeline rupture led to an oil spill into Little Grave Creek last week. (The Intelligencer, Wheeling, West Virginia)
• With FERC approval, Williams Energy will service 7 million homes from New York City to Georgia with Marcellus Shale natural gas daily via its $2.1 billion Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project. (The Intelligencer, Wheeling, West Virginia)
• Researchers assess what lessons have been learned from the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago — the largest accidental oil spill in U.S. history. (The Gainesville Sun, Florida)

UTILITIES: Danville Power & Light would not be sold — but industrial customers would be offered a choice of power suppliers — if the Danville City Council accepts the recommendations of the city’s Electric Services Assessment Steering Committee. (Register-Bee, Danville, Virginia)

GRID SECURITY: Former CIA Director James Woolsey urged legislators to take action to protect Florida’s electric grid from a terrorist or foreign military attack. (Saint Peters Blog)

ENERGY JOBS: Job losses in the coal industry were far outweighed by job gains in natural gas, wind and solar — but not in West Virginia. (The Charleston Gazette, West Virginia)