Florida court rebukes utility’s fracking charge on customer bills

UTILITIES: The Florida Supreme Court rules state regulators overreached in authorizing Florida Power & Light to bill customers for a speculative investment in a fracking company. (Miami Herald)

ALSO: Shareholders of Florida Power & Light’s parent company reject proposals for the company to report on its political contributions and risks of sea level rise. (Miami Herald)

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COAL ASH:
• Dozens of activists in North Carolina protest the state’s plan for dealing with coal ash as ​“window dressing.” (WTVD)
• People living near Duke Energy coal ash pits in North Carolina consider being connected to city water lines. (Associated Press)
• An environmental group continues pressing Duke Energy to stop moving ash to an empty clay mine in North Carolina. (Fayetteville Observer)

WIND: A new report spotlights the financial and other challenges of offshore wind facing utilities such as Dominion Virginia Power. (Utility Dive)

RENEWABLES: A summit of cloud computing companies grapples with how to power data centers, including hubs in North Carolina and Virginia, with wind, solar and storage systems. (GeekWire)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: As many as 400 opponents are to join hands on a North Carolina beach tomorrow to protest against seismic testing. (Lumina News)

STORAGE: North Carolina-based Alevo Energy hires a new CEO and ramps up production of its utility-scale batteries. (Charlotte Business Journal)

COAL:
• Dust from a nearby export terminal may be a health hazard to residents and workers in Mobile, Alabama. (WALA)
• The decline of coal for power generation would accelerate if the Clean Power Plan survives legal challenges. (Washington Examiner)

TRANSPORTATION:
• An Orlando-based engineering firm converts much of its vehicle fleet to propane gas. (Jacksonville Business Journal)
• A transit system in South Carolina is replacing some of its fleet with vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. (Anderson Independent Mail)

EFFICIENCY: To regain its footing, North Carolina-based LED-bulb manufacturer Cree takes aim at the street light market. (Triangle Business Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A North Carolina company hungry for technical talent says it is willing to lease Tesla Model 3s for new hires. (Raleigh News & Observer)

BIOMASS: Producing energy from hog waste in North Carolina is slow to get started. (WHQR Public Radio)

OIL & GAS: An oilfield fabricator in Louisiana says it will lay off 80 workers in July. (WVUE)

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WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A Kentucky cement plant is cleared to begin burning hazardous waste as a fuel. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

COMMENTARY:
• Sen. Lamar Alexander’s concern for natural beauty doesn’t seem to apply to energy projects other than wind. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• What North Carolinians really get from this week’s coal ash pond rankings: 18 more months of uncertainty. (Salisbury Post)
• Inside the minds of Dominion’s leaders, vacant space where climate thinking should be. (Power for the People VA blog)
• A North Carolina Senate bill ​“would flush the state’s vibrant renewable energy industry down the toilet.” (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)