COAL ASH: Tennessee regulators launched an investigation and assessment of how the TVA is remediating coal ash disposal sites across the state. (The Chattanoogan)
NUCLEAR:
• The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy wants Georgia regulators to trim back Georgia Power’s legally permitted profits on money shareholders invest in building two reactors at Plant Vogtle. (Associated Press)
• Will history repeat itself as nuclear reactors under construction in Georgia escalate in price? (Green World)
SOLAR:
• The U.S. Agriculture Dept. is providing nearly $50 million in loans and grants to 13 solar power investments by farms in North Carolina. (Winston-Salem Journal)
• As one of the country’s fastest-growing industries, growth in solar energy has largely bypassed Virginia in favor of neighboring states, most notably North Carolina. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Aldi is the second national retailer committing to rooftop solar in North Carolina, proposing to spend almost $3.8 million to install projects on 10 locations by year’s end. (Charlotte Business Journal)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Coastal South Carolina mayors are rallying against a federal bill that would permit drilling off the state’s coast. (Moultrie News)
WIND: Questions persist over how wind energy can grow without the federal Production Tax Credit. (EnergyWire)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Legal actions against the plan’s carbon limits will rest on whether the EPA’s actions fall in line with the Clean Air Act and the Constitution. (The Hill)
• A shift toward lower-carbon energy could accelerate in Georgia with the state’s emissions targets in the Clean Power Plan. (The Macon Telegraph)
COAL:
• Dozens of senators are asking the Obama administration to double the public comment period for a new mountaintop removal mining regulation. (The Hill)
• Concerns are mounting among labor unions, citizens groups and regulators that financially troubled coal producers could abandon obligations to current and former employees. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• The coal industry is pushing hard to convince Americans that mining jobs are the bedrock of the country’s economy. (Climate Progress)
• The asset value of Alabama-based Walter Energy plummeted during the second calendar quarter as it slipped towards its bankruptcy filing. (The Wall Street Journal)
UTILITIES: Entergy plans to shut down a 1,700 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Arkansas ahead of schedule to comply with regional haze regulations under the Clean Air Act. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
OIL & GAS: Property owners of a West Virginia injection well site are terminating their lease agreement with the site operator and have asking state regulators to withdraw its permit application. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
SUSTAINABILITY: The town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, soon will have a baseline to measure its progress in becoming a greener community. (The Island Packet)
COMMENTARY:
• Dueling proposed amendments on solar power in Florida reflect why the state Constitution is the wrong place to resolve policy issues best addressed by the Legislature. (Tampa Bay Times)
• An asthma sufferer in Atlanta celebrates the Clean Power Plan to reduce harmful emissions in Georgia. (Creative Loafing blog)
• The president of a Hispanic/libertarian organization urges Florida Gov. Rick Scott to ignore the Clean Power Plan’s emissions targets for the state. (The Florida Times-Union)