Competitors seek to take over Vogtle construction

CORRECTION: Because of an editing error, an item in Tuesday’s digest misattributed the quote ​“coal is not a viable fuel” to Duke Energy Florida president Harry Sideris. The quote is from the writer of the column, not Sideris.

NUCLEAR:
• The Bechtel and Fluor companies are preparing bids to take over the construction of two nuclear reactors at Southern Co.’s Vogtle plant in Georgia from Westinghouse. (Bloomberg)
• Westinghouse has stopped making pension payments to former executives as the company continues to struggle with following its bankruptcy filing and uncertainty over the completion of two nuclear projects. (Reuters)
• The CEO of Westinghouse said in his first public speech since the company’s bankruptcy filing that it will emerge ​“quickly, better, stronger.” (Bloomberg BNA)

COAL:
• A coal operation owned West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family is appealing a $10,000 state fine related to the death of a worker. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Emergency action plans that outline how a plant in Kentucky will react if there’s an emergency dam breach at its coal ash ponds have been made public. (WKU)
• Why President Trump can’t return West Virginia to the 1950s. (U.S. News)

POLITICS: Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality reversal on pipeline review is affecting candidates in the state’s race for governor. (Washington Post)

SOLAR:
• Georgia-based Suniva’s efforts to impose tariffs on imported solar cells were joined on Thursday by the struggling SolarWorld Americas Inc. (Portland Business Journal)
• A county council in Florida voted in favor of Florida Power & Light Co.’s plan to build a Pioneer Trail Solar Energy Center, with a final vote for the solar farm scheduled for June. (West Volusia Beacon)

PIPELINES:
• Construction is complete on a Florida Power & Light natural gas pipeline project, but operations could be delayed because of opposition from environmentalists. (Palm Beach Post)
• An environmental group said it plans to sue the Army Corps of Engineers over construction of a proposed Bayou Bridge crude oil pipeline. (Times-Picayune)
• Military veterans in Virginia voiced their opposition to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline in a letter released Thursday. (Environment Guru)

OIL & GAS: President Trump’s federal budget proposal to end a program that shares with states oil and gas royalties in federal Gulf waters could cost Alabama $56 million per year. (AL.com)

DRILLING: Several organizations in North Carolina are organizing a public opposition meeting to drilling the state’s coast. (Coastal Review Online)

UTILITIES: Recently purchased Piedmont Natural Gas was profitable for Duke Energy in its full first quarter. (Triad Business Journal)

CLIMATE: Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and other Republican lawmakers ask President Trump to follow through on his promise to pull out of the Paris climate accord. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• A columnist says Georgia Power ​“has sidestepped virtually all of the financial reckoning” on its Vogtle nuclear project. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Clean energy development in Virginia ​“might just put us back on the map,” says a newspaper editorial board. (Bristol Herald-Courier)
• A former Republican U.S. Representative for South Carolina says now is the time to ​“lead our country down a path of resource security and economic prosperity with solar energy.” (The Hill)
• An editorial board says recently developed co-ops in Kentucky make now the time for residents to embrace solar power. (Kentucky Standard)