COAL ASH: A legal battle is brewing in Virginia over Dominion’s plans to store coal ash at a site plagued by toxic pollutants leaking into local waterways. (The Virginian-Pilot)
OIL & GAS:
• House members from North Carolina and Virginia call for new environmental impact studies of seismic testing off their coasts. (Associated Press)
• Fracking creates a new lifeline for a Hare Krishna community in West Virginia. (Toledo Blade)
***SPONSORED LINK: Rocky Mountain Institute’s e-Lab Accelerator is calling on America’s most innovative teams at the forefront of the electricity transformation looking to take projects to the next level. See if your project is eligible for this invitation-only event April 24—27. ***
SOLAR:
• Despite an aggressive campaign backed by the state’s utilities, backers of a solar choice amendment in Florida are still optimistic about getting on the ballot. (Florida Politics)
• Plans for a large solar farm on a retired Florida doctor’s family land progress with a unanimous vote from local officials to annex the property. (Leesburg Daily Commercial)
• The industry battles a perception that solar is for the wealthy. (Reuters)
WIND: Beach towns along North Carolina’s coast are contesting studies about wind turbines offshore for not adequately weighing impacts on tourism and property values. (Wilmington Star-News)
TRANSMISSION:
• All six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation met with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz last week to raise concerns about a proposed wind-energy transmission line. (Arkansas Online)
• Plans for high-voltage transmission towers rile residents in High Point, North Carolina. (Greensboro News & Record)
COAL: “You’ve got to be an optimist to be in the coal business,” the president of the West Virginia Coal Association said at an event over the weekend. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
BIOMASS:
• North Carolina’s wood pellet industry is drawing scrutiny over whether cutting down trees is carbon neutral. (Western North Carolina Public Radio)
• A wood-pellet maker with plants throughout the Southeast launches a tree conservation program. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
CLIMATE: Residents of a historic Virginia island might become the first refugees of rising sea levels impacting the continental U.S. (ClimateWire)
BLANKENSHIP TRAIL: A juror who was a long-time union member says certain other jurors began the trial wanting to convict the former CEO of Massey Energy on all counts. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy seeks ways to boost profitability after missing earnings expectations in three of the last four quarters. (Charlotte Business-Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• Virginia’s solar market could grow 1,000% in 2016 but only if non-utility companies set the market price for utility projects. (Greentech Media)
• The federal government is right to protect Tennessee’s mountaintops from coal mining. (Knoxville News Sentinel)