POLITICS: Democrats facing tough challenges in 2016 in Florida and other swing states may have to prove their climate commitment to earn support from activist Tom Steyer. (National Journal)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Led by West Virginia, 14 states are formally reviving their challenge to EPA’s Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
• Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant asserts the EPA plan is unfair to his state and does not credit it for reducing emissions in previous years. (The Hill)
• Kentucky and several other states are on track to meet their carbon emissions reduction targets set by the EPA plan. (The Washington Post)
SUSTAINABILITY: Atlanta’s new football stadium is seeking the highest certification for sustainable buildings from the U.S. Green Building Council. (WABE Public Radio, Atlanta)
SOLAR:
• The leading solar industry trade group urges the Alabama PSC to approve Alabama Power’s plan for 500 megawatts of renewables, including solar. (CleanTechnica)
• Target has filed plans for solar-energy projects in eight additional North Carolina stores bringing to 27 its planned solar projects in the state. (Charlotte Business Journal)
WIND:
• Because its electricity will supply the wholesale market, Amazon customers cannot be certain its planned wind energy system in eastern North Carolina will displace natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy already on the power grid. (Fierce Energy)
• Amazon’s North Carolina wind system under construction will have to be tested to ensure it doesn’t interfere with U.S. Navy radar systems. (The Virginian-Pilot)
NUCLEAR: Molten salt technologies are garnering growing financial support for next-generation reactors. (National Geographic)
COAL ASH: An environmental attorney offers a behind-the-scenes look at efforts to hasten coal-ash cleanups in South Carolina. (Southern Environmental Law Center blog)
CLIMATE: New projects by the Army Corps of Engineers in coastal areas are required to account for rising sea levels. (Climate Central)
COAL:
• The coal boom in China is stalling as it grasps the economic impacts of carbon pollution. (ClimateProgress)
• Lawyers for former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship want details of the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion kept out of his upcoming trial over unsafe mining practices. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Newly proposed federal rules to protect stream waters from coal mining will be debated in Kentucky, West Virginia and other cities in the coming months. (WVTF Public Radio, Virginia)
• The United Mineworkers union blasts “outrageous” actions by Patriot to break its contracts. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A Kentucky coal producer says it is accumulating enough “spot” orders to boost production in 2016. (Platts)
AUTO EMISSIONS: Drivers in mostly rural North Carolina counties would be able to forgo the annual $30 state emissions inspection under legislation that has passed the House and is headed for a vote in the Senate. (Winston-Salem Journal)
UTILITIES: With 54 percent of its regulated power coming from coal, analysts differ over what company might want to acquire TECO Energy and its Tampa Electric utility. (EnergyWire)
WEST VIRGINIA: The planned public-private “Coalfields Expressway” in southern West Virginia is on hold due to the current depressed state of the coal industry. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Several variables converged to make a new waste-to-energy plant in Palm Beach, Florida a reality — the first such plant in the U.S. in 20 years. (Waste 360 blog)
OIL & GAS: Renewed hunts for oil in sensitive Florida ecosystems have environmental groups raising questions about the state’s regulation of the oil and gas industry. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• The EPA’s Clean Power Plan is the “right choice” for southwest Virginia. (The Roanoke Times)
• The president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce touts the benefits of boosting roles for natural gas to grow the state’s stalled economy. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Activist Debbie Dooley explains why she supports rooftop solar because of her Tea Party beliefs, not despite them. ( The Guardian)