FLORIDA: The campaign promoting Florida’s Amendment 1 wipes clean its social media platforms of references to the think tank tied to exposing utilities’ strategy to pass it. (Miami Herald)
ALSO:
• An early voter admits to being duped into supporting Amendment 1. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Songwriter Jimmy Buffett adds his voice urging voters in Florida to reject Amendment 1. (POLITICO Florida)
POLITICS: North Carolina’s gubernatorial race could hinge on whether Gov. Pat McCrory is viewed as having done more to mollify Duke Energy than police it. (Charlotte Observer)
COAL ASH: The spillover of ash into a North Carolina river after flooding alerts environmentalists in Georgia concerned about similar spills there. (Rome News-Tribune)
RENEWABLES:
• Duke Energy seeks bids for 750,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy. (Associated Press)
• For the fifth time since 2012, North Carolina pushes out one year a deadline for Duke Energy to meet mandate to generate electricity from animal waste. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• With several projects throughout the Southeast U.S., the Navy leads the federal government in clean energy deployment. (Greentech Media)
SOLAR: A net metering debate in Arkansas could determine the future of privately owned solar in the state. (Arkansas Business)
GRID: Dominion Virginia Power and the Army Corps of Engineers may be at an impasse in negotiations over a major power line spanning the James River as possible blackouts loom without it. (The Virginia Gazette, Daily Press)
EFFICIENCY: Despite lack of a formal plan, Charleston, West Virginia strives to become more energy efficient. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
BLANKENSHIP CONVICTION:
• An appeal by former coal baron Don Blankenship hinges on his attorneys’ success at determining what is a “reckless disregard” of mine safety laws. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Blankenship’s attorneys raise four issues they say should prompt a federal judge to overturn his conviction. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
COAL: A West Virginia congressman presses federal budget officials for a two-year pause on a rule designed to protect streams from coal mining. (West Virginia Metro News)
NUCLEAR: A Georgia Power official attributes many cost overruns at two reactors under construction to lessons it’s learning and heightened federal oversight. (Athens Banner-Herald)
OIL & GAS: Landowners in West Virginia are seeing lower prices for drilling lease renewals compared to five years ago. (The Wheeling Intelligencer)
PIPELINES: Protesters in Florida face long odds in trying to stop the Sabal Trail pipeline. (Ocala StarBanner)
COMMENTARY:
• The Orlando Sentinel joins a growing list of newspapers urging voters to reject Florida’s solar Amendment 1.
• A Florida columnist urges readers to shout, tweet and post on social media if they think Florida’s solar Amendment 1 should be rejected, another describes it as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” (Gainesville Sun, Miami Herald)
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe may like solar in his updated energy plan but he’s still wedded to fossil fuels. (Power for the People VA)