NUCLEAR: TVA’s Watts Bar 2 nuclear unit is now poised for a key performance test 42 years after construction began. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE: A compromise would freeze state renewable-energy requirements at current levels, propose a long-term study and scrap two proposals that would have been a serious setback for the solar industry. (Charlotte Business Journal)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a one-year extension of selected tax credits for renewable energy projects. (Triad Business Journal) 

POWER TECHNOLOGIES: PowerAmerica, a North Carolina State Univ. manufacturing incubator for developing technologies to run complex equipment cheaply, is set to open June 15. (Triad Business Journal)

ENERGY STORAGE: Alevo Group says it has signed the first sales contract for its 2-megawatt GridBank battery. The three units sold are being made in Alevo’s Concord, North Carolina factory. (Charlotte Business Journal)

SOLAR:
• With two new 16-megawatt systems, the Pickwick Electric Cooperative of Selmer, TN added the most solar energy per customer of any utility in 2014. (AltEnergyMag.com)
• Georgia Tea Party activist and solar advocate Debbie Dooley calls on Florida voters  to support the Right to Produce and Sell Solar Energy ballot initiative. (Saint Peters Blog)
• Fire Solar I in Charlotte sets plans to build seven systems as part of a solar ‘farm’ in Clemmons, NC and sell the electricity to Duke Energy Carolinas. (Winston-Salem Journal)

CLIMATE:
• Sen. McConnell says the Senate will block Obama’s Clean Power Plan using Section 102(c) of the Clean Air Act, which requires Congressional approval for any multi-state agreement to reduce pollution. (Western Kentucky University Public Radio)
• Sen. Alexander blasts the EPA for favoring wind and solar over nuclear power. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

AIR POLLUTION:
• South Florida’s air quality has improved dramatically since the late 1990s, as tougher federal rules for power plants and automobile exhaust reduced emissions of harmful pollutants. (Sun Sentinel)
• Environmental groups are urging the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency to tighten air pollution standards at Duke Energy’s Skyland plant. (Western North Carolina Public Radio)

OIL & GAS:
• The Alabama Oil & Gas Board has been authorized by the state legislature to create regulations to allow for the strip mining of tar sands in North Alabama’s Tennessee River Valley. (Eco Watch)
• The Savannah, GA City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution opposing offshore oil drilling and seismic testing, making Savannah the largest city so far to do so. (Savannah Morning News)

OIL & GAS PIPELINES: West Virginia Gov. Tomblin announced a $250,000 grant to extend a natural gas pipeline to Hazelton to help Allegheny Woods Products boost production and the new jobs that come with it. (Associated Press)

COAL ASH:
• Duke Energy’s response to Federal motions to unseal sentencing procedures for the utility’s coal ash misdemeanors keeps the case under seal. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Duke Energy will dig up 4.2 million tons of coal ash at the Robinson Nuclear Plant near Hartsville, NC and store it a new, lined landfill on-site. (Hartsville Messenger)

COAL: Kentucky lost 10% of all of its coal jobs during the first three months of 2015. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

COMMENTARY:
• The Advancing Equity and Opportunity Collaborative and the U.S. Climate Action Network’s Southeast Climate and Energy Network are collaborating to advocate to for environmental justice in the Southeast U.S. (Grist)
• Columnist Susan Ladd asserts Duke Energy’s coal ash landfill plan needs closer stater scrutiny. (News & Record, Greensboro)