COAL: The Peabody bankruptcy heightens awareness of mining reclamation challenges. (Associated Press)
COAL ASH: A non-profit data analysis firm challenges the veracity of Duke Energy’s coal ash assessments, alleging “basic scientific errors.” (Renewables Biz)
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NUCLEAR:
• Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good tells an audience at Eastern Carolina University a planned nuclear plant will generate 2,220 megawatts of power and cost about $10 billion. (The Daily Reflector)
• A former senior House Appropriations Committee member slams South Carolina’s continuing bid to build a facility to convert plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel. (E&E Daily)
• If the TVA pursues small modular reactors, it could be at least a decade before one is approved by regulators. (Oak Ridge Today)
• The TVA’s Browns Ferry reactors receive a regulator’s top safety rating for the second consecutive year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
WIND:
• A legal challenge in North Carolina could imperil what is set to become the largest wind farm in the Southeast. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Two technologies are emerging to help turbines minimize deaths to bird and bats near wind farms. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
FRACKING: The recycling of fracking waste can reduce water use and some pollution but it creates low-level nuclear waste too hot for traditional landfills. (Public News Service – West Virginia)
SOLAR: A unit of Duke Energy serving eastern North Carolina rises to third among all U.S. utilities ranked by solar megawatts installed. (Charlotte Business Journal)
OIL & GAS: Reidsville, North Carolina sets a two-year moratorium on oil and gas development, including fracking. (Greensboro News & Record)
POLICY:
• A West Virginia Congressman co-authors the newest attempt to develop a long-term U.S. energy strategy. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)
• State environmental regulators ask the University of North Carolina to turn over records disputing their handling of an air permit. (Raleigh News & Observer)
TRANSMISSION: Developers of the “Clean Line” project to transmit wind-generated power to the TVA and other Southeast utilities take aim at permitting hurdles in Arkansas. (Memphis Flyer)
OFFSHORE DRILLING:
• The Obama administration is set to issue new safety standards as the 6th anniversary of the 2010 BP Gulf oil spill approaches. (The Hill)
• Florida Sen. Bill Nelson lifts a hold on a major energy bill after a proposed amendment to incentivize drilling is withdrawn. (SaintPetersBlog)
EFFICIENCY: A North Carolina consortium of HVAC installers and distributors agrees to deploy new software from an Israeli startup to cool commercial buildings more efficiently. (Jewish Business News)
BLANKENSHIP TRAIL: Convicted ex-coal baron Don Blankenship asks a federal court to remain free pending his appeal. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS: Doubts grow whether LNG exports from Louisiana and elsewhere can help U.S. natural gas producers survive the current supply glut. (DeSmog blog)
EMISSIONS: Kentucky moves to scrap gasoline pump nozzles designed to limit escaping fumes. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The first charging station at Georgia Southern University highlights its sustainability progress. (The George-Anne)
TECHNOLOGY: A Florida high school student and “America’s top young scientist” presents a power generation concept for Third World countries at the White House Science Fair. (Miami Herald)
WEST VIRGINIA: The decline of coal in the Mountain State is tantamount to a “Great Depression” where more than one-third of citizens in many counties are out of work. (SNL)
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LOUISIANA: State senators vote to eliminate earmarks for money awarded to help the state recover from the 2010 Gulf oil spill. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• With each new coal bankruptcy, more costly legacies will burden utility ratepayers and the environment. (New York Times)
• The former chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission outlines how to better protect nuclear plants from terrorists. (U.S. News & World Report)
• Even a “dummy” should know to reject the solar Amendment 1 on Florida’s November ballot. (Tampa Bay Times)
• The authors of a proposed shareholder resolution for Florida-based NextEra spotlight the utility’s claim is isn’t worth dealing with rising sea levels. (Huffington Post)