NOTE TO READERS: Southeast Energy News is taking a break for Thanksgiving. We’ll return on Monday, November 30.
NUCLEAR: More than 11,000 comments force federal regulators to extend their assessment of two more reactors at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point plant. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
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SOLAR: Atlanta aims to supply about 40% of the electricity needs at 28 of its buildings with solar panels. (WABE Public Radio)
WIND:
• Florida-based NextEra Energy sets a plan with Hawaii on a 60-megawatt wind energy system on Maui. (Pacific Business News)
• Taller towers make large wind systems viable in parts of the Southeast U.S. (NRDC Switchboard)
UTILITIES:
• Virginia orders Dominion Virginia Power to refund $19.7 million to ratepayers after a biennial review, which the state will forgo until 2022. (WVTR)
• Duke Energy’s pending purchase of Piedmont Natural Gas was prompted by Southern Company’s planned purchase of Atlanta Gas Light. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Laying off 1,800 has helped the TVA cut costs by about $500 million over the past three years. (Nashville Public Radio)
• Duke Energy has been largely successful in fending off protests by one climate advocacy group in North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)
EFFICIENCY: Ten innovations from this year’s Greenbuild expo that can make homes smarter and more energy efficient. (National Geographic)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The source of electricity that recharges an EV affects how much cleaner it is versus vehicles running on gasoline and natural gas. (The Washington Post)
CLEAN TECH:
• A new study affirms how some corporations are trying to cast doubt about climate change and the impact their efforts are having on public opinion. (The Washington Post)
• Virginia-based GridPoint was close to ceasing operations as it was sold to a firm in Washington, DC. (Washington Business Journal)
CLIMATE: A researcher at Virginia Tech measures the eco-system in the Blue Ridge Mountains to gauge its impact on climate change. (WVTF Public Radio)
COAL GASIFICATION: A critic of the Kemper coal gasification power plant in Mississippi now has a formal role in regulating how rates are paying for its cost overruns. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
COAL:
• Kentucky and West Virginia are perhaps the states hit hardest by new coal regulations, according to an updated map that details coal plant closures in the Southeast U.S. and elsewhere. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
• Alabama-based Walter Energy wants a bankruptcy court’s approval to end labor pacts. (The Wall Street Journal)
POLITICS: Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and other GOP candidates score low on a test of climate science facts based on the presidential debates thus far. (Associated Press)
BLANKENSHIP TRIAL: Jurors have deliberated 26 hours thus far as they are set for a long Thanksgiving break. (Charleston Gazette-News)