EFFICIENCY: Tennessee officials are leading a multistate effort to streamline the evaluation of energy efficiency investments for compliance with the Clean Power Plan. (EnergyWire)
CLIMATE: About 170 marches throughout the U.S. call for actions to mitigate climate change, including these in Miami and Charlottesville, Virginia. (Miami Herald; WVTF Public Radio)
SOLAR:
• Residential and commercial customers of Duke Energy in South Carolina have access to a new rebate for new solar systems. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A new utility solar energy system set in Kentucky heralds a day when solar could rival coal for power generation in the Blue Grass State. (WKYT-TV)
• The future for utility-scale solar looks bright even if a federal tax credit is scaled back after 2016. (Solar Industry)
• The Florida Supreme Court is expected to rule by next week on the legality of a proposed solar choice Constitutional amendment. (EnergyBiz)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Georgia installs its first solar-powered charging station. (Columbia Ledger-Inquirer)
BLANKENSHIP TRIAL:
• Jurors in the criminal trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship hear three former coal miners describe rampant safety problems. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Defense lawyers for Don Blankenship showed jurors memos depicting how he pressed managers to reduce safety violations. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
2010 BP OIL SPILL: The mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida targets ‘green’ projects with its $6.5 million settlement. (The St. Petersburg Tribune)
DEMAND RESPONSE: Supreme Court judges challenge a tool used by PJM, which operates the power grid for West Virginia and other states, to discount electricity prices during high demand. (Greenwire)
OIL & GAS:
• The Union of Concerned Scientists warns of risks Louisiana is incurring with an increasing dependence on natural gas. (New Orleans Public Radio)
• A summit underway tries to show how north Florida is becoming a natural gas hub. (Jacksonville Business Journal)
COAL:
• Miners and their supporters rally in Alabama calling for Walter Energy to honor employee and retiree benefits as it reorganizes in bankruptcy court. (Tuscaloosa News)
• Large companies that figured prominently in the last coal shakeout as acquirers are largely sitting out this round. (The Wall Street Journal)
UTILITIES:
• Disputes prompt two to resign from the board of the Jacksonville Electric Authority. (The Florida Times-Union)
• Duke Energy reassesses how to meet growing power demand in the Carolinas after a proposed transmission line is defeated and a coal plant is closed. (Utility Dive)
• Entergy struggles to comply with regulations requiring cleaner power generation in Arkansas. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
COMMENTARY: Coal companies have a final dirty trick for miners. (Rome News-Tribune, Georgia)