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)