OFFSHORE DRILLING: President Obama is expected, perhaps today, to permanently ban new drilling off the Atlantic Coast. (New York Times)
COAL:
• The Obama administration sets a final rule designed to reduce the impact of coal mining on the nation’s streams but Congressional opponents, led by many lawmakers representing West Virginia, vow to void it in 2017. (Wall Street Journal, Register-Herald)
• Retired miners face painful choices if their health and pension benefits are not extended long-term. (Boston Globe)
• Federal mine safety officials piece together the sequence of events that led to a miner’s death in Western Kentucky in January. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
NUCLEAR:
• Georgia regulators are to vote today on whether ratepayers will pay for billions of dollars of cost overruns for two new reactors under construction. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Federal energy officials select four companies to pursue a possible test for storing radioactive waste underground at three test sites. (Associated Press)
• A new metal tested at the University of Tennessee could make reactors 100 times more resistant to radiation while solve various technical problems. (news release)
UTILITIES:
• President-elect Trump gets an opportunity next month to fill three vacancies on the board of the TVA. (Nashville Public Radio)
• Outgoing directors at the TVA approve a “richer golden parachute” for CEO Bill Johnson to deal with the possibility President-elect Trump may replace him. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• Two more environmental groups in Florida want to intervene in a Gulf Power rate increase case arguing for less coal, more efficiency. (News Service of Florida)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: The plan positions South Carolina to sell emissions credits worth more than $1 billion, but not if it’s thwarted by President-elect Trump. (The Herald)
SOLAR: In North Carolina, Cypress Creek Renewables completes what it claims is the largest solar farm in the Southeast. (news release)
CLIMATE: As sea levels rise, climate scientists in Florida worry over President-elect Trump’s Cabinet choices. (Miami Herald)
NATURAL GAS: A major pipeline operator applies to transmit gas to the export terminal at Sabine Pass, Louisiana as more handling equipment is added there. (Argus Media)
COMMENTARY:
• Regions such as Hampton Roads, Virginia better prepare to deal with rising sea levels on their own and not expect help from President-elect Trump. (Virginian-Pilot)
• A Mississippi lawmaker joins a call to rein in questionable sales practices by solar installers. (RealClear Energy)
• Florida’s utilities and President-elect Trump should speed up the development of small modular nuclear reactors. (Lakeland Daily Commercial)
• The proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline should be re-routed to preserve the celebrated Appalachian hiking trail. (Eco Watch)