COAL: Programs in West Virginia to retrain miners for jobs in solar show promising initial success. (PV Magazine)
ALSO:
• West Virginia reaches a $15 million deal to resolve a lawsuit over mine cleanup liabilities if Alpha Natural Resources doesn’t survive financially. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A proposal to hike fees on imported goods – if passed – could pay for extending miners’ health and pension benefits for 10 years. (Associated Press)
GRID: Duke Energy’s plans for its third microgrid in the Charlotte area include a first: connecting it to the local distribution system. (Charlotte Business Journal)
SOLAR: Researchers from North Carolina State University develop a new process for fabricating more efficient plastic solar cells. (news release)
HYDROPOWER: In its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Alcoa sold $210 million worth of electricity from dams it once used to power aluminum smelters near the Yadkin River in North Carolina. (Associated Press)
COAL ASH:
• The TVA’s plan to store coal ash in place at its Bull Run power plant in Tennessee stirs opposition from environmental groups because it sits below the groundwater table. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• Ohio-based FirstEnergy plans to ship coal ash from a Pennsylvania power plant to a Murray American Energy facility in Moundsville, WV. (The Times)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Newly re-elected West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey plans to double-down on repeal of the Clean Power Plan. (The Journal)
PIPELINES: Established interstate pipelines are being re-engineered to facilitate the export of fracked gas from West Virginia and elsewhere to ports in the Gulf Coast. (Bloomberg)
2010 BP OIL SPILL: Alabama plans to issue about $650 million of its reimbursement for unique debt securities to repay its rainy-day fund and boost road improvements. (The Bond Buyer)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators fine the TVA $140,000 for fire safety violations. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
UTILITIES: State regulators give final approve to Florida Power & Light’s multi-year, $811 million, rate increase; in part to finance a major grid upgrade. (SunSentinel)
BATTERIES: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to enable energy storage to participate more actively in organized electricity markets such as PJM. (National Law Review)
COMMENTARY:
• Retreating on his pledge to help the coal industry would have deep ramifications for President-elect Donald Trump. (The Inter-Mountain)
• Northern Alabama has much to be thankful for now that it hosts the state’s largest solar array. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)