Tennessee wind project on hold after state lawmakers pass moratorium

WIND: A more than $100 million wind farm project is on hold after Tennessee lawmakers passed a yearlong moratorium on new turbines there. (Associated Press)

COAL ASH: Insurance companies sued by Duke Energy to recover more than $1 billion in coal-ash contamination costs say the utility company disposed of ash in ways it knew threatened groundwater. (Charlotte Business Journal)

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NUCLEAR:
• Consultants say Westinghouse’s bankruptcy filing makes it ​“uneconomic” to complete its Vogtle nuclear plant project. (SNL)
• Recent nuclear plant shutdowns across the country, including in Florida, are result of a mix of political opposition and competition from gas, which may undercut U.S. climate goals. (New York Times)
• An environmental group is filing a legal challenge to TVA’s proposed Oak Ridge nuclear project in Tennessee. (Times Free Press)

CLIMATE:
• A report finds carbon emissions from the power sector have dropped to 1990 levels; AEP, Duke Energy and Southern Co. are the top three emitters. (InsideClimate News)
• President Trump called the mayor of a small island community in Virginia and said not to worry about rising sea levels threatening the town: ​“Your island has been there for hundreds of years.” (Associated Press)
• A Louisiana teen is one of 21 suing the federal government for its alleged failure to curtail fossil fuel development and address climate change. (Times Picayune)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Sixteen groups have jointly asked Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott to sign a bill that would expand the use of renewable energy in the state. (News 4)
• Apple Inc. has issued a $1 billion green bond to fund renewable energy generation in several states, including North Carolina. (Bloomberg News)
• Although increasing, the number of Floridians who own renewable energy systems is a small fraction of the state’s population. (Palm Beach Post)

POLITICS: A Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida says if elected, she wants the state to comply with the Paris Agreement. (SaintPetersBlog)

NATURAL GAS:
• State officials have fined a Kentucky city agency $60,000 for repeated failure to check for leaks in the city-owned natural gas system. (Herald Leader)
• Opponents of a Duke Energy gas plant project in North Carolina will hold a protest on the 4th of July. (Mountain Xpress, press release)

SOLAR: A ceremony Tuesday recognized Kentucky’s largest non-utility solar array at Fort Campbell. (Lane Report)

COMMENTARY:
• A Democratic state senator from Virginia says President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord ​“is a stunning renunciation” of leadership and praises his state’s actions to fight climate change. (Roanoke Times)
• It doesn’t make sense for the Trump administration to sell off the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce the budget deficit. (Advocate)
• A columnist says offshore drilling not only pollutes the ocean and harms marine ecosystems, but also has negative effects for those living inland. (NRDC)