Solar power is booming in South Carolina

SOLAR: Nearly 1,400 permits were issued for new solar installations in the three-county area around Charleston, South Carolina, compared to only 100 in 2015. (Post and Courier)

ALSO:
• A 250 acre solar farm is planned in Louisiana. (Natchez Democrat)
• An industry group highlights the growth of solar jobs amid declining coal employment in states like West Virginia. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)

NUCLEAR:
• Georgia Power defends using ratepayer funds for preliminary work on a now-suspended nuclear project. (E&E News)
• The TVA is investigating after a contractor brought a loaded handgun into an Alabama nuclear plant, which is a federal crime. (AL.com)

COAL:
• In Appalachia’s Coal Country, residents look to a future without a significant presence from the coal industry. (Al Jazeera)
• Pollution controls are lowering demand for Kentucky’s low-sulfur coal. (Daily Independent)

OIL AND GAS:
• A senate committee in Florida considers on Tuesday a bill to ban fracking in the state. (WRLN)
• A federal court affirms dismissal of a lawsuit against oil and gas companies over damage to Louisiana coastal lands. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

PIPELINES:
• The Georgia Senate approved on Friday to make it more difficult for petroleum pipeline companies to use eminent domain to take private property along proposed pipeline routes. (Atlanta Business Journal)
• Protesters started their planned multi-day walk Saturday along the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in North Carolina in opposition of the project. (Daily Herald)
• Three hearings are scheduled this week in West Virginia on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (WV MetroNews)

HYDRO: Technological upgrades at a Kentucky dam could provide lessons for small hydroelectric plants around the country. (Lexington Herald Leader)

RENEWABLES: The University of Mississippi offsets a small portion of its electricity through renewable energy credits. (news release)

TECHNOLOGY:
• An Alabama firm develops techniques to turn industrial waste into biofuels and other products. (AL.com)
• Students from 20 Tennessee schools compete in a solar go-kart race. (Johnson City Press)

COMMENTARY: ​“Tighter regulation is crucial when the government grants Georgia Power a lock on selling residential power in much of the state.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)