POWER GRID: A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists illustrates how ill-prepared the East and Gulf coasts are to a category 3 or higher hurricane. (InsideClimate News)

CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING: The Florida Supreme Court removes a barrier to property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing. (Greentech Media)

RENEWABLES: The latest federal data show solar and wind power account for 1.13% and 5.91% shares of the country’s total energy mix respectively. (SeeNews)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: The EPA notifies states how it can extend the deadline until 2018 for filing their final plan to reduce carbon emissions. (ClimateWire)

PIPELINES: More than 30 environmental groups call on federal regulators to review the need for and impact of four proposed interstate natural gas pipelines from West Virginia through Virginia. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

CLIMATE: How rising sea levels threaten drinking water supplies in south Florida. (Miami Herald)

OIL & GAS: Louisiana’s severance tax exemption on horizontal drilling for oil and gas cost the state more than $1 billion from fiscal years 2010 to 2014. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

NUCLEAR:
• The TVA’s newly-licensed Watts Bar 2 reactor lacks modern safeguards, critics say. (Public News Service)
• Without exposure to competitive wholesale or retail power markets, the TVA’s reactors are protected from early retirements, its CEO says. (Platts)

COAL: A mining industry survey claims a federal stream protection rule would kill at least 40,000 jobs in coal and related industries. (The Hill)

UTILITIES:
• Duke Energy’s plan to buy Piedmont Natural Gas reflects a growing focus on the fuel and related businesses. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• The CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas says its merger into Duke Energy is not predicated on any role for him at Duke. (Charlotte Business Journal)

ALTERNATIVE FUELS: A new owner plans to restart an ethanol plant in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

BLANKENSHIP TRIAL:
• Attorneys for coal baron Don Blankenship say citations for safety violations are “inevitable” in coal mining. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A key witness testifies Massey Energy adopted a serious and high-level approach to safety before its deadly 2010 mine explosion. (The New York Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A senior North Carolina environmental official says the state’s real coal ash challenges were neglected by former Gov. Bev Perdue. (The Fayetteville Observer)
• The coal industry has wounded itself much worse than President Obama’s policies ever could. (Forbes)
• Utilities opposing third-party solar sales in Florida are deliberately misrepresenting a proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution. (Tallahassee Democrat)