WIND: Federal officials slate two pre-lease meetings in North Carolina in September for industry and stakeholders ahead of a proposed offshore wind auction. (ReNews)
UTILITIES: Florida Power & Light’s CEO says customers will suffer unless it gets its large rate hike to fund a “culture of innovation.” (POLITICO Florida)
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EFFICIENCY:
• A Miami company aims to help big electricity users upgrade their lighting fixtures and pay for them through energy savings. (Miami Herald)
• The board of directors of lighting innovator Cree in North Carolina approves a share buyback program to boost the company’s stock price. (Triangle Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• A three-month-old North Carolina company outlines ambitious plans to own a gigawatt’s worth of utility-scale solar projects over the next five years. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Furman University in South Carolina plans a large solar farm to speed its march toward carbon neutrality. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• The parent company of Appalachian Power bought 750,000 tons of coal from the company owned by a candidate for governor in West Virginia without soliciting competitive bids. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Retired miners from Alabama, Kentucky, West Virginia and elsewhere plan a September 8 march on Washington to preserve their pension and health care benefits. (The Militant)
• Coal communities remain skeptical of government pledges to help revive their economies. (New York Times)
NUCLEAR:
• Inspectors of a fuel factory in South Carolina uncover fresh problems tied to a buildup of radioactive material in a pollution mitigation system. (The State)
• Louisiana regulators are to decide Wednesday on whether Entergy ratepayers should pay for a $140 million mistake at its Waterford 3 plant. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
POLLUTION: Regulators in West Virginia stick by a reduced water quality standard for pollutants discharged by mining and other operations into state rivers and streams. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
INNOVATION: Early stage, clean energy companies are encouraged to apply to a program in Charlotte to help them raise investment capital. (Charlotte Business Journal)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: As highly-anticipated oral arguments before a federal appeals court about the Clean Power Plan approach, many experts say killing it won’t save the coal industry. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
COAL ASH: Questions linger about the safety of well water near a Dominion coal ash pit in Northern Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: The film “Sonic Sea” becomes a rallying cry for banning seismic testing off South Carolina’s coast. (Ground Report)
GRID: Appalachian Power’s plan for a high-voltage transmission line to serve Southwest Virginia comes under fire. (Bristol Herald Courier)
PIPELINES: Studies differ on the projected value to West Virginia of multiple pipelines planned throughout the state. (Beckley Register-Herald)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Boosters plot how best to leverage National Drive Electric Week September 10-18. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
COMMENTARY:
• Floods in Louisiana this month, in West Virginia in June and in South Carolina in October underscore the risks of our changing climate. (New York Times)
• West Virginia needs to deploy its share of funds the Obama administration is dispersing to help displaced coal workers. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Florida Power & Light’s CEO supports the state’s solar Amendment 1 but also the utility-backed solar Amendment 4. (Florida Politics)
• Yay, Dominion is building solar, just not for you. (Power for the People VA blog)