WIND:  Under many scenarios, the Tennessee Valley Authority says it would benefit by importing 1,750 megawatts of wind power from Texas and Oklahoma. (Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennessee)

NUCLEAR: Duke Energy may use bonds to offset nuclear plant shutdown costs. (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)

SOLAR:
• Solar installers in Georgia assess growth prospects with looming third-party financing of residential rooftop systems. (WABE Atlanta, National Public Radio)
• The Robeson County (NC) Board of Commissioners has approved requests for two solar farms bringing to six the total number of solar systems approved by the board in the last two weeks. (The Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina)
• New facility in west-central Virginia by the Appalachian Regional Commission will demonstrate and educate residents about solar. (WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, Virginia) 

EMISSIONS:
• While other states moderated their carbon emissions, Arkansas had nation’s highest increase from 2005 to 2012. (The New York Times)
• Reduced emissions from coal-fired power plants seen as biggest contributor to improved air quality in five Kentucky counties. (WFPL-Louisville, Kentucky Public Radio)

CLIMATE:
• Florida is among top targets of climate activist Tom Steyer’s “Hot Seat” strategy for 2016 elections. (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)
• Seven maps by Nature Climate Change illustrate geographic concentration of climate change believers vis a vis skeptics throughout the Southeast U.S. and elsewhere. (Bloomberg Business)

COAL:
• Citizen groups in West Virginia have reached a settlement to force Pocahontas Land Corp. to take responsibility for continuing water pollution at a former mountaintop removal coal-mining site. (The Charleston Gazette)
• Environmental groups in West Virginia are suing Patriot Coal over water pollution at its huge Hobet 21 mountaintop removal complex. (The Charleston Gazette)
• West Virginia and Kentucky led nation in coal mining deaths since 2004. (West Virginia Public Radio)

UTILITIES: Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy boosting its investment in wind power in Colorado. (Pacific Business News) 

OIL & GAS:
• Flawed steel pipe welding process still in widespread use two years after ExxonMobil oil pipeline rupture in Arkansas. (Inside Climate News)
• Complete with a 40-foot inflatable ‘pipeline,’ opponents of the proposed Atlantic Coast pipeline are pressing Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to withdraw his support for natural gas transmission project. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Ceramic blankets are among the National Transportation Safety Board recommendations for reducing risks of oil rail tank car fires during accidents which have plagued West Virginia. (Associated Press)
• A ship collision near Convent, Louisiana, caused crude oil to leak from a vessel into the Mississippi River. (WDSU-TV, New Orleans)

COMMENTARY: Dissecting Atlanta’s “Power to Change” sustainability initiative. (GreenBiz.com)