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)