RENEWABLE ENERGY: The North Carolina House and Senate passed a renewable energy bill last Friday that restored solar compromise provisions and reduced a wind moratorium to 18 months. (Charlotte Business Journal)
ALSO: Apex Clean Energy, which is planning a 105-turbine project in North Carolina, says investment plans could be suspended as the result of a wind moratorium awaiting the signature of Gov. Roy Cooper. (Triad Business Journal)
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UTILITIES:
• Mississippi Power Co. said last week it will not complete its “clean coal” Kemper power plant, after losing billions of dollars and falling years behind schedule. (Associated Press)
• Two workers were killed Thursday and four other were injured while working on a coal-fired broiler at the Tampa Electric Company. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES:
• Virginia will expand its review of the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipeline projects to protect water quality beyond the stream and river crossings covered by a federal permit. (Times Dispatch)
• Meanwhile, Virginia’s DEQ is holding five public hearings in August on the permitting process to protect water quality along the routes of the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• An NPR investigation has identified nearly 2,000 cases of black lung disease in Appalachia that have been diagnosed since 2010. (NPR)
• A West Virginia coal company has been cited for the delayed reporting of a roof collapse at one of its mines that lead to a miner’s death, and then altering the scene before the investigation. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• As mining continues to slow, Appalachian coal states, including Kentucky and West Virginia, want to reduce required inspections, worrying critics. (Associated Press)
COAL ASH:
• A Duke Energy contractor is challenging the consultant hired by North Carolina officials to help assess Duke’s coal ash operations for its proposed 14.9 percent rate hike. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Duke Energy has chosen a third coal ash recycling site in South Carolina, meeting a state deadline. (Triad Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• Louisiana could spend as much as $15 million in backlogged tax credits to homeowners who added solar panels to their properties. (Associated Press)
• Dominion Energy will buy two new solar farms in Virginia, increasing its solar power generation capacity to nearly 409 MW in the state. (news release)
• Several small cities in Georgia are using solar power to save money on wastewater treatment. (Florida Times-Union)
NUCLEAR:
• A court reversed a decision that would have let Westinghouse try to recoup about $2 billion for cost overruns at nuclear plant projects in Georgia and South Carolina. (Associated Press)
• Georgia Power and Southern Co. will formally take over the Plant Vogtle project in late July. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
CLIMATE: Scientists say climate change will cause disproportionate economic harm to southern and southeastern states. (WLRN)
COMMENTARY:
• The co-chairmen of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling oppose President Trump’s executive order on offshore drilling, saying safety and oversight needs to continue to improve, not rollback. (New York Times)
• An editorial board doubts a North Carolina state senator’s claims that wind farms are the biggest threats to military bases there. (Capitol Broadcasting Company)
• An editorial says carbon capture “can no longer be viewed as a savior for coal-fired power plants — or as a rationale to build new ones.” (Bloomberg)