CONGRESS: The House is set vote on a bill by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) that would allow states to defer compliance with the Clean Power Plan or opt out of it altogether. (E&E Daily)
CLIMATE:
• The Atlanta-based Weather Channel is launching a series designed to reach climate skeptics about the causes of global warming. (Associated Press)
• The White House asserts that failure to act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths a year in the United States from poor air quality by 2100. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• Solar energy systems will cost less than $1 per watt fully installed by 2017 – CEO of First Solar. (Greentech Media)
• REC Solar, a commercial solar installer majority-owned by Duke Energy, has expanded its operations by purchasing a California rival. (Charlotte Business Journal)
NORTH CAROLINA:
• Duke Energy calls for collaboration as GOP fights to freeze the state’s clean energy incentives. (Utility Dive)
• North Carolina and other Southeast states are national leaders in bio-based product sales. (Triad Business Journal)
BIOFUELS: State applications for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s $100 million Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership grants are due July 15. (Southeast Green blog)
FRACKING: How power plants are being sited atop shale natural gas formations in the Eastern U.S. (Western Kentucky University Public Radio)
NUCLEAR: The Georgia PSC holds its latest assessment today of costs to build the two reactors at Plant Vogtle. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
KENTUCKY: A former state representative charged with bribing an inspector to ignore violations at coal mines the lawmaker owned goes on trial this week. (Western Kentucky University Public Radio)
COMMENTARY:
• The proposed solar power amendment to the Florida Constitution deserves to be on the 2016 ballot – editorial. (Palm Beach Post)
• Amazon, not Dominion, is leading the way for utility-scale solar in Virginia – opinion. (Power for the People VA blog)
• Virginia needs to catch up with its East Coast neighbors in developing a solar energy industry and markeet – opinion. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Climate-science denying investors could be big stock losers – opinion. (MarketWatch)