CLEAN POWER PLAN: West Virginia is leading more than 20 other states – including 8 others in the Southeast – in coordinated lawsuits to stop President Obama’s signature environmental initiative. (Greenwire)
ALSO:
• Several senators say they will offer Congressional Review Act resolutions today that seek to stop the plan. (The Hill)
• A group of Democratic attorneys general say will work to protect the plan with filings this week. (The Hill)
• An executive at the power grid that includes parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi warns of dangers if states implement the plan independently. (Platts)
• A failure of the Clean Power Plan could undermine U.S. credibility in seeking global steps to mitigate climate change. (Mother Jones)
• Duke Energy elects – for now – not to join lawsuits filed by states it operates in to block the Clean Power Plan. (Charlotte Business Journal)
UTILITIES:
• Duke Energy says it has reached an agreement buy Piedmont Natural Gas for $4.9 billion. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Duke Energy may talk about the diversity of its future generation mix but its plans fall short of reflecting much beyond more natural gas. (Charlotte Business Journal)
U.S. CLIMATE CONFERENCE:
• The Obama Administration is ramping up efforts to get the American public behind its goal for a strong global climate change deal in Paris in December. (The Hill)
• Here are the overriding issues expected to dominate the Paris climate talks. (Climate Central)
• Republicans attack Obama’s climate policies to paint a nation divided over any new global plan to cut emissions. (National Journal)
SOLAR: Here’s how utilities are profiting from solar energy. (Motley Fool)
COAL ASH: Test results confirm TVA’s coal ash is leaking into the Cumberland River and private drinking wells. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
BATTERIES: There are signs the energy storage industry is ready to scale up. (The New York Times)
POLITICS: Support for climate change solutions by a freshman Republican Congressman from south Florida makes him a target in next year’s primary. (E&E Daily)
PIPELINES: The Mountain Valley Pipeline from West Virginia to Southern Virginia is the second in the region applying to transport fracked natural gas to market. (West Virginia Public Radio)
COAL: Alpha Natural Resources is planning to sell shuttered mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois. (Associated Press)
BLANKENSHIP TRIAL:
• The charge that the Massey Energy CEO conspired to violate mine safety rules looms as a potent weapon for prosecutors. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• The 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners lurks in the background of the criminal trial. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Vested interests drive the debate over allowing for the exploration of oil off South Carolina’s coast. (The Post and Courier)
OIL TRAINS: After securing a seven-year delay on new safety rules, the railroad industry is lobbying hard for another long extension. (The Washington Post)
DEMAND RESPONSE: Two experts consider what the demand-response market will look like if the Supreme Court kills a practice designed to conserve and balance electricity supplies. (Greentech Media)
COMMENTARY:
• A Republican congressman from South Florida says climate change shouldn’t be a partisan issue. (Miami Herald)
• Billions of dollars of new state revenues and the services they could provide are at stake in the debate over drilling off the Atlantic coast. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Coal industry supporters’ claims that President Obama is killing the industry are “nonsense” and ignore economic realities. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)