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NUCLEAR: The TVA’s Watts Bar 2 reactor reaches full power after a four-week outage and is set to go “commercial” this month. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
WIND:
• How a rural corner of North Carolina could dominate the region’s market for wind energy. (Southeast Energy News)
• Business interest in building a wind farm off North Carolina’s coast may be waning. (Virginian-Pilot)
• A conservationist talks to University of Tennessee students about balancing wildlife and wind energy. (Tennessee Journalist)
COAL:
• A new polls finds a most West Virginians want to focus on diversifying the state’s economy over protecting the coal industry. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Federal officials agree on $5 million in upgrades to prevent further pollution in Appalachian mines owned by West Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice. (Associated Press)
• Philanthropist Tom Clarke embarks on a “grand plan” to recast coal mining in West Virginia into a “green” industry. (New York Times)
SOLAR: A new study finds costs for utility-scale projects are dropping so fast – 20% in the past year – they could fend off new nuclear reactors. (Charlotte Business Journal)
OIL & GAS: Big oil interests are scrambling to help save the seat held by North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, who is locked in a “dead heat” with Democratic challenger Deborah Ross. (Think Progress)
UTILITIES: Amid weak electricity demand, capitalizing on lower natural gas prices and juggling environmental demands are primary drivers for Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good. (Wall Street Journal)
VW EMISSIONS SCANDAL: More than 300,000 Volkswagen owners have registered to be compensated because of emissions-cheating software. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES:
• Duke Energy says it will sell some of its ownership of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to Dominion Resources. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A look back at how gasoline markets reacted to the rupture of the Colonial gasoline pipeline in Alabama last month. (Oil and Gas 360)
COMMENTARY:
• SCG&E is wrong to claim credit for moderating construction costs at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant. (The Post and Courier)
• Anticipation builds over whether the Virginia Supreme Court will authorize pipeline surveys of private property. (Charlottesville Daily Progress, Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Vote “no” on Florida’s “shady, not smart” solar Amendment 1. (SunSentinel)
• The chief sustainability officer of Virginia-based Mars, Inc. urges state lawmakers to advance emissions reductions in the state’s compliance with the Clean Power Plan. (The Virginian-Pilot)