SOLAR: Advocates say a Kentucky bill “takes all certainty off the table for the state’s solar industry. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

ALSO:
• A Florida bill allows property owners to generate and distribute solar energy to residents and tenants on their own property. (Palm Beach Post)
• Florida Power and Light says its recently announced solar expansion will save ratepayers money. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY: A pair of Florida bills would establish “Energy Economic Zones” to encourage clean energy development. (Florida Politics)

UTILITIES: A bipartisan group of lawmakers urge Virginia’s governor to end a freeze on electricity rates that was tied to the Clean Power Plan. (Roanoke Times)

COAL:
• Tax liens show coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice still owe the state $4.4 million in unpaid taxes. (Associated Press)
• The CEO of a Florida utility says the company will need a $106 million rate increase to see a rate of return from a Georgia coal plant it owns a stake of. (Florida Politics)

COAL ASH: A provision that would have made Dominion Virginia Power reassess its waste storage sites before closing them has been removed from a coal ash bill by Virginia lawmakers. (Virginian-Pilot)

WIND: West Virginia regulators consider Appalachian Power’s plan to purchase 120 MW of wind energy. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

PIPELINES:
• Virginia lawmakers decline to take up a proposal by activists to encourage taking eminent domain cases to state courts instead of federal courts. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Louisiana becomes a key focus of anti-pipeline activists. (Reuters)
• Work will begin next month to expand a Louisiana natural gas pipeline. (Monroe News Star)

NUCLEAR:
• More details on the contingency plans being implemented by developers of nuclear projects in South Carolina and Georgia in case of problems with Westinghouse. (Engineering News-Record)
• Georgia regulators approve another $141 million in costs for the Vogtle plant. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Georgia Ports Authority and Ikea will test an electric tractor in Savannah next month. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

TECHNOLOGY: Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology develop a cheaper way to convert natural gas into hydrogen while capturing CO2. (Engadget)

COMMENTARY:
• Donald Trump is making promises to the coal industry he can’t possibly keep. (Vox)
• A Florida veteran argues for fracking. (SaintPetersBlog)
• Sen. Mitch McConnell says the federal stream protection rule was “a blatant attack on coal jobs and the communities they support.” (Bowling Green Daily News)
• Conservatives backing a carbon tax “is a very encouraging development in addressing climate change.” (Johnson City Press)

Avatar photo

Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.