WIND:
• Wind can now be built profitably in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina according to a new U.S. Dept. of Energy report. (OilPrice.com)
• A unit of Atlanta-based Southern Company says it will buy its first wind project, a 299-megawatt Kay Wind facility in Oklahoma from Apex Clean Energy, for an undisclosed sum. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Residents of Elm Springs in Northwest Arkansas protest proposed wind farm. (KNWA-TV)
CLIMATE: Senate Majority Leader and Kentucky’s senior Sen. Mitch McConnell tells rest of world that America cannot meet targeted emissions cuts proposed by President Obamna in global climate deal. (WFPL National Public Radio, Louisville, KY)
COAL: The collapse in energy prices is dealing another blow to the struggling Appalachian coal industry, with estimates that two-thirds of Eastern Kentucky’s coal output is now unprofitable. (Lexington, KY Herald-Leader)
OIL & GAS:
• Bills dealing with hydraulic fracturing in Florida passed their first Senate committee stop on Tuesday after a state environmental official said they would provide needed regulation for the industry. (Saint Peters Blog, Florida)
• When natural gas drillers use extreme pressures to drill and crack rocks thousands of feet underground sometimes nearby conventional gas wells can see production triple. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Tarballs and other after-effects of 2010 BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico can still be seen five years later. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
• A judge says Alabama’s Gulf oil spill damage claims under the federal Oil Pollution Act can be heard by a jury. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: A North Carolina Senate bill that would extend the state’s 35 percent tax credit for solar and other renewable energy to 2016 has 27 sponsors and cosponsors. (Charlotte Business Journal)
UTILITIES: Federal regulators have approved Florida-based NextEra Energy’s proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Co., one of the major approvals needed to finalize the sale. (South Florida Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• Tall hurdles face MAGE Solar’s efforts to resume subsidized solar panel manufacturing in Dublin, GA. (The Telegraph, Macon, GA)
• CloudSolar startup enables renters to benefit from electricity generated by solar panels even if they don’t live close by. (Western Carolina Public Radio)
COMMENTARY:
• The co-chair of Memphis-Shelby County, TN’s Sustainability Advisory Committee makes the business case for sustainability. (The Memphis Daily News)
• One Hundred Miles, a coastal conservation organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Georgia coast, argues against allowing oil or gas drilling. (Creative Loafing blog)