CLIMATE CHANGE: Statements by former South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Jeb Bush signal their willingness to acknowledge to voters that climate change is man-made. (E&E Daily)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Ahead of its expected release early next week, the prospect that states such as Kentucky and Louisiana will refuse to comply with the EPA plan puts pressure on individual plants to achieve federally-enforceable emissions reductions. (EnergyWire)
• Research suggests future power plant additions by the Southern Company that balance natural gas and renewables could cost a lot less than relying solely on gas. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy blog)
CONGRESS:
• The Senate Energy committee’s attempt at the first broad energy policy reform bill in eight years includes a plan to increase offshore drilling. (The Hill)
• Expanding drilling in the Gulf proposed by the Senate Energy committee’s policy reform bill threatens training air space for Air Force and Navy jets. (The Tampa Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: West Virginia is set to expand a competition that successfully pitted blocks of homes in Charleston against east other to see who could save more electricity. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
SOLAR:
• Instead of a third coal-fired plant, the Orlando Utilities Commission is set to build a solar plant at a cost cheaper than coal. (Orlando Sentinel)
• The Ozarks Electric Cooperative in Arkansas can move forward with planning a 1-megawatt solar power facility. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• Large power users in Louisiana oppose Entergy’s move to buy electricity from a solar farm owned by Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• A newly installed, 12-kilowatt, solar system in a Bluffton, South Carolina community is drawing attention after a ban was lifted. (The Island Packet)
• A bulk purchasing co-op in Central Florida launches to offer homeowners solar systems at a discounted price. (The Winter Park / Maitland Observer)
WIND: Construction spikes of wind systems, including the first-ever large wind farm proposed in North Carolina, complicate the rationale for extending the federal wind production tax credit. (The Christian Science Monitor)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Environmental groups have launched a new campaign to block drilling off the southern Atlantic coast. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
NUCLEAR: Duke Energy has asked the Florida PSC to issue a securitized bond to help reduce charges to consumers for shutting down the mothballed Crystal River nuclear plant. (Charlotte Business Journal)
PIPELINES: Phillips, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco are building a pipeline in southern Louisiana, and are planning a second pipeline nearby, to deliver crude oil refineries there. (The Advocate, Baton Rouge)
POWER LINES: A move by Duke Energy Progress to modernize its grid in the Carolinas is drawing opposition even before its plans are filed with regulators. (Triad Business Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• Jeb Bush is adding in a “technology and innovation” mantra popularized by his brother to appeal to climate believers. Who can blame him? (Climate Progress)
• The report assessing the risks of climate change to Florida should be a wake-up call to Gov. Scott and other leaders to shore up the state’s defenses. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Why doesn’t former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship want the jury to hear about the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster? (The Charleston Gazette blog)