SOLAR: Santee Cooper in South Carolina boosts incentives for residential and ratepayes while increasing its rebate for a community solar program. (The Post and Courier)
COAL:
• Economic developers in coal-dependent southwest Virginia plot how to make the region a center for carbon-capture technology. (Bristol Herald Courier)
• Hopes among some Appalachian miners of a revival under President-elect Trump are waning. (The Gleaner)
POLITICS: Pat McCrory is the first incumbent governor in North Carolina to lose a re-election bid as he concedes to Attorney General Roy Cooper. (Winston-Salem Journal)
RENEWABLES: With the help of solar projects in North Carolina and elsewhere, Google says it is now powering all of its data centers with renewable energy. (Greentech Media)
PIPELINES:
• Dominion proposes a new natural gas compressor station and additional throughput capacity for its pipeline operations in Northern Virginia. (Gas Compression Magazine)
• The Atlantic Coast Pipeline clears a hurdle in North Carolina. (Triangle Business Journal)
• Taking a page out of protesters’ rallying against the Dakota Access Pipeline project, Virginia residents in the path of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline say artifacts of Native Americans there also ought to be preserved. (Augusta News Leader)
• Opponents in Virginia and West Virginia of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines strategize over their next moves to block both projects. (The Weirton Daily Times)
COAL ASH: The treatment of ash wastewater at a power plant operated by Dominion Virginia Power is suspended pending fixes the utility agreed to with local officials. (Prince William Times)
NUCLEAR: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspends a wetlands permit issued to Dominion Virginia Power for a $19 billion reactor it may build. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
POLICY:
• President-elect Trump is reportedly considering North Carolina regulator Donald van der Vaart to be the next EPA administrator. (The Hill)
UTILITIES:
• New Orleans residents have two more public hearings to voice any concerns about Entergy’s plans for a new power plant in the city. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• The TVA plans to close its oldest coal-fired power plant in Tennessee but will continue providing steam there for an adjacent chemical plant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
FRACKING: Residents in Virginia’s Northern Neck urge regulators to ban fracking. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
CLIMATE: Officials, academics and other thought leaders in Miami huddle over how best to make South Florida more resilient to rising sea levels. (University of Miami)
COMMENTARY:
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is wrong to close the state’s environmental education office. (Martinsville Bulletin)
• A Georgia regulator says solar is good but needs to be paired with nuclear. (Savannah Morning News)
• It’s no coincidence: the push to enable solar in Florida comes as electricity rates for many are rising. (SunSentinel)
• Tesla and Virginia motorists deserve the option of purchasing cars without a dealer in the middle. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)