SOLAR: A poll paid for by backers of Florida’s solar Amendment 1 finds 66 percent of voters would support it, while supporters raise more than $23 million to sway voters in its favor. (SaintPetersBlog, Florida Times-Union)
ALSO:
• A solar system flattens summer peak-demand for a rural co-op in Arkansas. (Arkansas Business)
• Clarke County, Virginia is getting a 20-megawatt solar farm. (Associated Press)
• For the fourth time, the Chesapeake, Virginia city council will vote on whether to authorize a large solar farm painted by some local residents as an eyesore. (The Virginian-Pilot)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Federal judges today hear an appeal led in part by West Virginia but likely won’t rule on it until early 2017. (Ohio Valley Resource, ClimateWire)
POLITICS: North Carolina philanthropist Jay Faison discusses how clean energy can help “modernize” the Republican Party. (E&E TV)
WIND:
• Every member of Arkansas’ congressional delegation opposes the planned Clean Line project aimed at bringing wind-generated electricity 700 miles to utilities in the Southeast. (Arkansas Business)
• A conference in Arkansas spotlights the need to upgrade the region’s energy infrastructure, including the Clean Line transmission project. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
NUCLEAR:
• A plan surfaces in South Carolina for another waste disposal facility and draws reservations from Gov. Nicki Haley. (The State)
• Areva North America in Lynchburg, Virginia trims its staff due to shrinking demand for reactor maintenance services. (Roanoke Times)
COAL: A new poll signals strong support for $1 billion in mine reclamation projects mostly in Appalachia under the so-called federal RECLAIM bill. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
COAL ASH: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights says the EPA is failing its environmental justice mission by hastily approving the storage of ash in low-income and minority communities. (Think Progress)
PIPELINES: Nineteen chambers of commerce in Virginia urge approval of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, claiming it will save natural gas users $243 million annually. (TI News Daily)
NATURAL GAS: A county 911 line in Northern Virginia receives numerous calls about natural gas odors during the venting of facilities operated by a unit of Dominion Resources. (Ashburn Patch)
COMMENTARY:
• Don’t let drilling companies hide fracking data. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Jurisdictions in Virginia should get ready to fight drilling companies’ efforts in the 2017 General Assembly to block local authority over fracking. (Power for the People VA blog)
• Proponents of seismic testing for offshore drilling ignore mounting opposition along the Atlantic coast. (Moore Charitable Foundation)
• The driver of a Tesla Model S in Sarasota, Florida shares tips on how to preserve its battery power. (CleanTechnica)