PIPELINES: The developer of the proposed Palmetto Pipeline from Alabama through Georgia into Florida suspends work amid political opposition. (Florida Times-Union, Atlanta Business Chronicle)
ALSO: Dominion shifts its planned route for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in response to landowner concerns, and says further adjustments are possible. (Fayetteville Observer)
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CLIMATE:
• A nonprofit developing climate data for businesses opens its doors in Asheville, North Carolina. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• A business lobbyist slams an expanding probe by attorneys general – including Virginia’s – over an alleged lack of climate risk disclosures by ExxonMobil. (The Hill)
OIL & GAS:
• The EPA unveils a partnership with 41 companies agreeing to voluntarily reduce methane emissions. (Associated Press)
• A West Virginia water protection plan open for comment shows 300 potential contamination sources, mostly from oil and gas operations. (The Register-Herald)
• A south Louisiana waterway remains closed to commercial traffic as a contractor cleans up about 11,500 gallons of oil that overflowed from a tank Monday. (Associated Press)
POLLUTION: North Carolina sues the EPA a second time denying it is a “significant” contributor to ozone levels in the Northeast. (WFAE Public Radio)
SOLAR:
• A new study of rooftop access to the sun by U.S. zip codes shows significant untapped potential in Florida. (Greentech Media)
• An electric co-op in Georgia soon will have access to solar-generated power from its wholesale supplier. (Suwannee Democrat)
• A Virginian’s experience with solar demonstrates how the technology can make sense in a state viewed as unfriendly to cleaner energy. (The Virginian-Pilot)
• Rowan County, North Carolina and Catawba College there embrace the declining cost of solar energy. (Salisbury Post)
EFFICIENCY: A local alliance launches a program to reduce energy costs for households and businesses in Charlottesville, Virginia. (The Daily Progress)
COAL: The judge weighing a fine and prison term for convicted coal baron Don Blankenship is asked to read 110 “character letters” submitted by his attorneys. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
COAL ASH: Concerns of a large disposal accident similar to Duke Energy’s 2014 spill into the Dan River loom as public hearings in North Carolina conclude. (Hickory Record)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla prepares to make its case in federal court if needed to sell its upcoming Model 3 directly to consumers in West Virginia and five other states. (The Wall Street Journal)
TRANSMISSION: Residents of a North Carolina town reach a tenuous peace with Duke Energy over its high-voltage power line towers. (Greensboro News & Record)
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WORKFORCE: A new job-training program aims to help prepare residents in rural Virginia to work for electric cooperatives. (Virginia Business)
COMMENTARY:
• With Atlantic drilling off the table, seismic testing should be too. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• The Clean Line transmission project from Oklahoma to Tennessee has the potential to deliver power to 1.5 million homes, four times the annual output of the Hoover Dam. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• An often-delayed nuclear reactor at Plant Vogtle in Georgia was originally scheduled to start generating power by tomorrow. (Creative Loafing)
• The U.S. can ill afford yet to shut down coal-fired power generation. (The Exponent Telegram)
• A writer sees more benefits than drawbacks of a North Carolina law school’s climate center taking contributions from utilities that have run afoul of state environmental regulations. (Raleigh News & Observer)