SOLAR:
• The next big utility vs. solar showdown is brewing in North Carolina. (Utility Dive)
Survey indicates people love solar power if it doesn’t cost ratepayers extra. (Charlotte Business Journal)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• A Republican state senator in North Carolina and three colleagues have filed a bill to extend to 2020 the state renewable-energy tax credits scheduled to end this year. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Judge rules GCS can move forward with all four of its complaints against Pinellas County stemming from losing its waste-to-energy contract to another company during a competitive bidding process. (Saint Peters Blog)

CLIMATE
• U.S. Supreme Court perceived as split on a case involving an EPA pollution rule legality of Obama’s Clean Power Plant and its fate on 460 coal-fired power plants, many of which operate throughout the Southeast U.S. (Northwest Arkansas Democratic-Gazette)
• A weather blog challenges scientists about climate change. (WRAL-TV, Raleigh-Durham, NC)
• The Bridge the Gulf web site spotlights energy’s growing impact on Gulf Coast communities. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)

SUSTAINABILITY: Atlanta ranks third in U.S. EPA’s seventh annual ranking of the top 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star-certified buildings. (Neighbor Newspapers, Metro Atlanta)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Georgia state Senate has passed legislation that would render moot a legal challenge auto dealers filed last year arguing that Tesla’s direct sales model violates Georgia law by bypassing dealerships. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

NATURAL GAS  VEHICLES: Athens, Alabama is increasing its usage of compressed natural gas. (The News Courier, Athens, AL)

UTILITIES: Charlotte, NC-based Duke Energy is the nation’s eighth-largest recipient of federal grants and special tax credits over the last 15 years, according to a new report by the advocacy group Good Jobs First. (Charlotte Business Journal)

OIL & GAS: The Charleston, SC City Council has voted to oppose offshore drilling. (Associated Press)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators set meeting for March 31 to inspect the four nuclear reactors under construction in Georgia and South Carolina. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
Editorial in the Palm Beach Post by spotlights how U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, turned to Twitter to draw attention to Florida’s silence on climate change. (Palm Beach Post)
• The GOP’s 10 commandments of climate change. (Context Florida)
Virginia’s General Assembly is warming up the solar energy (Power for the People blog)
• Getting juiced on electric vehicles in Winter Park, Florida. (Orlando Weekly)

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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