SOLAR: If Georgia-based Suniva receives its proposed trade protections, an industry group says an estimated one-third of the U.S. solar workforce could be lost next year and the price of imported solar panels could double. (Solar Industry, Bloomberg)
ALSO:
• Construction has begun on all eight of Florida Power & Light’s solar projects totaling 600 megawatts, making it one of the largest solar expansions ever in the eastern United States. (SaintPetersBlog)
• Students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham are building a house powered completely by solar energy as part of a competition against 11 other colleges. (Alabama News Center)
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NUCLEAR:
• A clean energy group says the cost of Georgia Power’s Vogtle nuclear expansion is now estimated at $29 billion, which is $9 billion higher than before, while “idle time, early quits and late starts remained high” among construction workers at the project, which is three years behind schedule. (Reuters, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• A U.S. House committee has approved a bill that would lift a deadline for the nuclear power production tax credit, which would affect nuclear projects under construction in South Carolina and Georgia. (The Hill)
• Two more conservation groups have joined the public opposition against the Tennessee Valley Authority’s proposed reactor for its Clinch River site. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
BIOMASS: Biomass remains a challenge in Georgia, which is so rich in forestry waste it exports it to other countries. (Southeast Energy News)
COAL: As the Trump administration focuses on adding jobs in the coal industry, many coal workers in Kentucky and elsewhere say the real emphasis should be on stopping the industry’s decline. (NPR)
CLIMATE CHANGE:
• New research suggests Louisiana’s coast is sinking into the Gulf faster than scientists thought. (Washington Post)
• After President Trump assured the mayor of a small island town in Virginia that the community was not threatened by climate change, a city council member has started a fundraiser to buy 550 copies of a documentary for Trump and other officials. (Associated Press)
OIL AND GAS: Exxon Mobil has settled a lawsuit with dozens of residents and homeowners in Arkansas over a 2013 oil spill. (Arkansas News)
COMMENTARY:
• Electric vehicle-friendly policies would provide economic benefits to Georgia as well as fuel and maintenance savings, improvements in grid reliability and reduced air emissions. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• Because of West Virginia’s history with coal, the state is having a more difficult transition to alternative energy sources than others. (Charleston Mail-Gazette)