SOLAR: Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation are opposing import tariffs on solar panels, saying they would pose a threat to thousands of clean energy jobs. (News & Observer)

ALSO:
• The decision in an international trade case over solar panel imports could put an end to the solar industry boom in Georgia, harming the state’s rural economy. (WABE)
• North Carolina researchers dismiss health concerns over solar panels, saying they are small and “vastly outweighed by health benefits of the generation of clean electricity.” (Southeast Energy News)
• Atlanta-based Home Depot announced it will add solar panels to 50 of its store rooftops. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

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PIPELINES:
• Four Virginia state legislators are asking regulators to slow down the review process for the proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines and to use the state’s full authority to protect water. (Augusta Free Press)
• A North Carolina scientist says the proposed Atlantic Coat Pipeline project would have an adverse impact on the economy because of its contribution to climate change. (Fayetteville Observer)

NUCLEAR:
• South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is asking Santee Cooper for information to help facilitate the sale of the state-owned utility or its stake in the unfinished Summer nuclear project, saying there are interested buyers. (The State)
• An analysis shows U.S. power companies have a history of walking away from nuclear plant projects and that some factors of the South Carolina’s Summer plant abandonment are not unique. (Platts)
• Hundreds of former nuclear plant employees in Tennessee are concerned about medical benefits for conditions that may be related to nuclear work from decades ago. (News Sentinel)

OIL & GAS:
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Thursday that he opposes including the state’s waters in the new oil and gas leasing program being assembled by the Trump administration. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Meanwhile, the Virginia Petroleum Council says the state would benefit from offshore energy development. (news release)
• A federal lease sale for 90 tracts in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday received a tepid response from oil and gas companies, likely due in part to stagnant energy prices. (Times-Picayune)
• A federal appeals court voided an order that would have required Exxon Mobil to revise safety procedures following an oil spill in Arkansas four years ago. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

COAL: Construction has begun on a coal mine in western Kentucky that would open next year and employ about 280 miners. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s idea to federally subsidize Eastern coal is “a wasteful proposition.” (Environmental Defense Fund)