CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Officials and coal companies in West Virginia and other Southeast states opposing the Clean Power Plan hail the Supreme Court’s ruling to halt it until legal challenges are resolved. (Associated Press)
• The Obama administration vows to press ahead with the plan. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• In briefs filed with Florida’s Supreme Court, critics say a proposed Constitutional amendment backed by utilities is misleading and is often confused with a competing proposal. (Politico Florida)
• Southern Company’s independent power unit could be positioning itself to take over projects launched by SunEdison and others. (SNL)
RENEWABLES: New data debunks claims by Google in South Carolina and Amazon in Virginia about their use of solar- and wind-generated power. (Triple Pundit)
UTILITIES: As NRG Home exits North Carolina and other states, who’s poised to become the utility of the future? (Greentech Media)
WIND: How Arkansas and Tennessee can tap wind energy in the Southwest via a planned long-distance transmission line. (Bloomberg)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A bill in Georgia to reduce the annual fee from $200 to $75 approaches its first test in the House. (Green Car Reports)
CLIMATE: For the second straight year, a Virginia lawmaker’s bid to mitigate climate change fails due to opposition from Dominion Virginia Power. (The Virginian-Pilot)
COAL ASH:
• North Carolina imposes $6.6 million fine on Duke Energy for coal ash disposal violations. (Charlotte Observer)
• North Carolina parts with the EPA in actions against Duke Energy’s management of coal ash. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• These North Carolinians are increasingly frustrated over Duke Energy’s efforts to deal with coal ash affecting their water supplies. (Charlotte Observer)
• Georgia officials say they have no further role in a dispute over a private company’s plans to dispose of coal ash there from Tennessee and North Carolina. (WABE Public Radio)
NUCLEAR:
• A Georgia bill would prevent Georgia Power from passing on costs after 2017 for the Plant Vogtle project to ratepayers. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Federal regulators plan a special inspection of a Louisiana reactor after lightning led to an unplanned shutdown last month. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
• South Carolina sues to force the Dept. of Energy to finish the “MOX” commercial fuel manufacturing plant. (The Post and Courier)
COAL:
• Sen. Mitch McConnell is blocking a fix needed to the coal miners’ pension plan. (The Washington Post)
• Hundreds of laid off miners attend a job fair in Alabama. (Tuscaloosa News)
• Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources receives the first bid for some of its assets. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• President Obama’s final budget proposal includes funding for worker retraining for miners and cleanups of abandoned mines. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
OIL & GAS: A lack of industry interest tables move to regulate oil sands exploration in Alabama. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
PIPELINES:
• Energy and business groups publicly thank Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe for standing up against environmentalists’ opposition to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Staunton News Leader)
• A Virginia bill to bolster the rights of property owners facing pipeline surveyors fails. (The Roanoke Times)
COMMENTARY:
• An emptied coal ash pond in Virginia raises questions about the transparency of Dominion Virginia Power’s disposal efforts. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• Will the TVA sweep coal ash under the rug? (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• West Virginians can decide how the state moves on from its dependence on coal mining. (West Virginia Record)
• Some small businesses stand to win with exports of liquefied natural gas set to begin in March from Louisiana. (The News Star)