COAL ASH:
• An environmental non-profit serves deposition notices on senior aides to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory over their handling of information about water safety near Duke Energy’s ash ponds. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• North Carolina’s top environmental regulator claims the dispute with a state toxicologist isn’t over his water safety findings, just how they were explained to well owners as “a bit strong.” (WRAL, Salisbury Post)
SOLAR:
• Duke Energy’s $1.5 million leads the latest contributions to the committee seeking passage of Florida’s solar Amendment 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot. (SaintPetersBlog)
• After approving nine similar permits, a North Carolina county rejects a solar farm proposal. (Fayetteville Observer)
• North Carolina startup Semprius is chosen to help research more efficient solar panels with George Washington University. (GW Hatchet blog)
• Commissioners in Augusta County, Georgia approve rezoning applications for two solar farms. (WRDW/WAGT)
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NUCLEAR:
• Regulators sign off on Georgia Power’s latest report on its expenses to build the two reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Federal regulators are probing why Westinghouse secured three times the safe amount of uranium at its fuel factory in South Carolina and waited far longer than the required 24 hours to report it. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
GRID: Two regional power grids that serve several Southeast states coordinate studies about the cumulative impact of plant retirements expected by the summer of 2017. (Platts)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy considers adding natural gas capability to its coal plants. (Charlotte Business Journal)
RENEWABLES: A non-profit urges a Kentucky county to direct utilities there to explore renewable energy options. (The State Journal)
CLIMATE: More links emerge between floods and global warming. (ClimateWire)
EFFICIENCY: An engineering complex at Marshall University in West Virginia earns LEED Gold certification. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
2010 BP GULF OIL SPILL: A state House committee advances a plan to allocate Alabama’s share of the settlement money. (Associated Press)
COAL: Drawing on lessons learned in South Wales, a documentary filmmaker identifies three traits West Virginia needs to survive coal’s decline. (Beckley Register-Herald)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: A non-profit in North Carolina hails officials at dozens of cities and communities for their stands against drilling off the state’s coast. (Jacksonville Daily News)
COMMENTARY:
• A non-profit offers recommendations for improving oversight of spending on Georgia Power’s construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• The TVA, like utilities in Georgia and the Carolinas, should be required to clean up its coal ash pollution, not cap it in place. (The Tennessean)
• Virginia officials, led by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, shill for Dominion Resources. (The Roanoke Times)
• North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and his Democratic opponent are doing the state a disservice by politicizing coal ash. (Salisbury Post)