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)

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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