New power lines seen as key to boosting renewables in the Eastern U.S.

GRID: Grid experts say new high-voltage transmission lines could lead to a tenfold increase in renewable energy for the Eastern U.S. (Utility Dive)

FLORIDA:
• The New York Times covers Florida’s solar amendment controversy.
• A former internet entrepreneur in Florida is spending his own money to defeat the solar Amendment 1. (Miami Herald)

SOLAR:
• The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture launches a $3.6 billion loan program for rural electric co-ops to develop large systems in North Carolina and elsewhere. (Power Magazine)
• Georgia lawmakers look to fine-tune a 2015 law aimed at encouraging small-scale solar that is falling short of projections. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

CLIMATE: The Navy outlines how rising sea levels are affecting training and mission preparation at its base in Norfolk, Virginia. (ClimateWire)

COAL:
• Communities in Southwest Virginia are to receive $6.6 million in federal grants to diversify away from mining. (Bristol Herald Courier)
• The coal mining town of Bluefield is to receive $2 million of federal aid to develop an industrial incubator. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

COAL ASH: A leading activist in Georgia urges local commissioners to educate state lawmakers about the risks of disposing coal ash without lined landfills. (Golden Isles News)

PIPELINES: Lawmakers in Northern Virginia signal opposition to upgrades to a compressor station after Dominion said it wouldn’t expand it. (DC Media Group)

UTILITIES: The AARP mounts late opposition to a negotiated $811 million, four-year, rate hike sought by Florida Power & Light. (SunSentinel)

POLITICS: North Carolina philanthropist Jay Faison is finding more Republican colleagues willing to support party candidates working on climate solutions. (ThinkProgress)

FRACKING: With support from businesses, a candidate takes on an incumbent Republican congressman in Florida who backs fracking. (Naples Daily News)

NATURAL GAS: A developer files to build a large gas-fired power plant southeast of Richmond near the James River in Virginia. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

2010 BP OIL SPILL: Attorneys are to receive about 4% of the overall $13 billion expected to be awarded. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• The president of the Florida League of Women Voters spells out reasons for opposing the solar Amendment 1. (Fort Myers Beach Bulletin)
• For early voters in Florida on Halloween, that wolf in sheep’s clothing is the solar Amendment 1. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)