PIPELINES:
• With the Keystone XL pipeline rejected by President Obama, Virginia is becoming the new epicenter of protests against new oil and natural gas pipelines. (Associated Press)
• After five years of work, the Obama administration proposes a limited regulatory overhaul of safety rules. (Politico)

CLIMATE:
• Secretary of State John Kerry is to address climate change and national security at Old Dominion University in Virginia Tuesday. (The Daily Press)
New projections estimate the ocean will be six-and-a-half feet deeper by 2100 in South Florida under a worst-case scenario. (The Sun Sentinel)
• Four new polls show a growing awareness of climate change as a serious problem, but not a sense of urgency to deal with it. (InsideClimate News)

SOLAR:
• A second bulk-purchasing cooperative in central Florida is drawing heightened attention to solar’s potential in the Sunshine State. (Orlando Sentinel)
Solar advocates in North Carolina call on lawmakers there to stop undermining the burgeoning market for cleaner energy. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A seed farm in Tennessee draws all the power it needs on sunny days from its new solar array. (The Tennessean)
• A new film explores the challenges facing solar in Alabama. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• Solar power’s declining costs and a federal tax break due to expire after 2016 make a compelling case for new solar energy systems in the Tampa Bay area.  (The Tampa Tribune)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• North Carolina officials are asking for the public’s input on its own plan — not the U.S. EPA’s plan — to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. (Associated Press)
• Ads by a PAC run by Michael Bloomberg are set to target Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s legal attack on the Plan. (The Hill)

NUCLEAR:
• Dominion Virginia Power is trying to become the first utility to extend the life of a reactor to 80 years. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to update guidelines for weighing the extension of operating licenses to 80 years. (EnergyWire)
• Climate experts are closely watching how President Obama will treat the role for nuclear power at the upcoming Paris climate talks. (E&E Daily)

INNOVATION: An energy summit in North Carolina spotlights how new energy efficiency technologies, renewable energy cost declines and advanced drilling techniques underpin a new U.S. energy future. (Charlotte Business Journal)

COAL: A group of Senate Democrats want to charge coal companies working on federal lands for the carbon dioxide pollution they cause. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)

UTILITIES:
• A new report outlines how utilities can prosper without controversial fixed charges. (Greentech Media)
• Piedmont Natural Gas says CEO Tom Skains will retire when the company’s $4.9 billion sale to Duke Energy closes. (Charlotte Business Journal)

POLITICS: Republicans in Kentucky are using President Obama’s “war on coal” as a big reason to support them at the polls. (Associated Press)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: A forum in Savannah, Georgia sponsored by oil and gas companies raises questions about the long-term benefits to consumers. (Savannah Morning News)

BLANKENSHIP TRIAL: A series of once-private emails by a former federal safety regulator-turned-Massey Energy employee may hold the key to the prosecution of CEO Don Blankenship. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)

2010 GULF OIL SPILL: A former BP engineer accused of deleting text messages after the Gulf oil spill pleads guilty to lesser charges. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Facts and consumers are being manipulated in Florida’s solar choice debate. (Palm Beach Post)
• The economics of new nuclear power plants in Georgia and South Carolina don’t add up. (The Energy Collective)
• The oil industry is exaggerating the benefits of drilling off the Atlantic coast. (Facing South blog)

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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