RENEWABLES: The latest tally by a business alliance in South Carolina finds clean energy provides more than 17,000 in-state jobs directly and indirectly. (Live 5 News)
SOLAR:
• Walmart and Alabama Power agree to build a 72 MW system in Chambers County. (Lafayette Sun)
• Three newly-installed tracking systems in Mississippi are testing how solar panels perform in very humid climates. (Semiconductor Today)
• A developer applies to build a 1,200-acre solar farm in Virginia’s Tidewater region. (Tidewater News)
STORAGE:
• Florida Power & Light announces a new energy storage pilot project at a White House summit on scaling renewable energy. (Palm Beach Post)
• At its renewable energy summit, the White House spotlights storage projects near Asheville, North Carolina by Duke Energy. (news release)
NUCLEAR: Duke Energy Florida customers next month will see new “asset securitization charge” to cover costs of closing the Crystal River plant. (Tampa Bay Times)
OIL & GAS: A new analysis by two national environmental groups of industry air pollution places West Virginia among states with the most elevated cancer and respiratory health threats. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Chattanooga, Tennessee is among the first cities getting an EV ride-share program. (The Chattanoogan)
UTILITIES: The TVA strives to balance the benefits and costs of adding power generation capacity through renewables and the potential for next-generation nuclear plants. (The Nashville Ledger)
COAL:
• Senate Democrats introduce legislation to require mining companies to prove they can pay for cleaning up their sites. (The Hill)
• A Kentucky county moves to replace lost coal jobs with a proposed federal prison atop a mountaintop coal removal site and draws protests in Washington. (ThinkProgress)
• While Maryland drops its lawsuit against Dominion Virginia Power over wastewater discharged into the Potomac River, a suit by environmental group continues. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
WIND: The North Carolina Senate gives preliminary approval to a ban on wind energy systems near military flight training sites. (WRAL)
PIPELINES: Environmental and property-rights activists plot how to oppose more pipelines after helping defeat the Palmetto Pipeline in Georgia. (WABE Public Radio)
COAL ASH: While Dominion Virginia Power begins disposing of or treating its ash, stakeholders look forward to the next round of public meetings. (Chesapeake Bay Journal)
NATURAL GAS: A proposal by Entergy to build a new gas-fired power plant in East New Orleans draws protests. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
POLLUTION: Louisville could face federal fines for exceeding ozone limits due in part to coal-fired power plants serving it. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
CORRECTION: An item in yesterday’s digest carried the incorrect name for a wind transmission line project. It is being developed by Clean Line Energy Partners.