UTILITIES:
• Greenpeace says Duke Energy, Dominion Virginia Power and other southern utilities are blocking data-centers’ push for cleaner power. (EnergyWire)
• Duke Energy’s increase in the use of natural gas is largest among big fossil-fuel utilities. (Charlotte Business Journal)
ENERGY STORAGE:
• Entergy will incorporate energy storage technology in its first solar system planned for New Orleans. (The Times-Picayune)
• Florida solar advocates praise Elon Musk’s new energy storage technology as the state’s rebate program winds down. (Orlando Sentinel)
SOLAR:
• Gov. Deal signs a law authorizing Georgia solar installers to offer third-party financing. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Laws in Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina prohibiting non-utility sales of power make no sense, asserts a new report by the MIT Energy Initiative. (Fast Company)
• Orlando’s electric utility plans to build solar energy systems on the grounds of shuttered coal-burning power plants. (Orlando Sentinel)
CLIMATE: Researchers are only scratching the surface about climate change’s impacts on the economy and children’s health. (ClimateWire)
COAL:
• West Virginia’s PSC tells Appalachian Power to justify closure of coal-fired power plants. (The Intelligencer)
• Patriot Coal, with eight active coal complexes in West Virginia, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years. (Associated Press)
OIL TRAINS: The oil industry petitions for more time beyond 2020 to comply with new tank car safety requirements. (Associated Press)
BP OIL SPILL:
• An attorney for claimants has asked a federal judge to delay a decision on what BP owes in fines to avoid further payment delays. (The Times-Picayune)
• Drilling is set to resume near the site of the BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• Kentucky’s Attorney General accuses Marathon Petroleum of abusing its wholesale gasoline monopoly. (WFPL Public Radio)
• Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, introduces a bill to boost state royalties and open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling. (HoumaToday.com)
COMMENTARY: Columnist Kerry Dougherty asserts Virginia wouldn’t need tougher ethics laws if elected officials — not utilities and other businesses — had more integrity. (The Virginian-Pilot)