Utilities attack solar choice ballot push in Florida

SOLAR:
• Florida’s investor-owned utilities attacked the proposed solar choice Constitutional amendment as briefs start arriving at the state’s Supreme Court. (Orlando Sentinel)

COAL ASH:
• North Carolina’s Supreme Court rules Duke Energy can take years to clean up its leaking coal ash dumps. (Associated Press)
• Citizen groups push Georgia Power to remove coal ash waste from a shuttered plant. (Thomasville Times Enterprise)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: South Carolina won’t reverse a permit authorizing seismic tests oil and natural gas. (The Post & Courier)

COAL:
• As more coal company stocks decline, many risk ejection from the New York Stock Exchange. (ClimateWire)
• Citizen groups charge that reports a Kentucky coal company issued to correct earlier false data also contained false information. (Kentucky Herald-Leader)
• Bill to speed conversion of an Asheville, North Carolina coal plant to natural gas is ready for Gov. Pat McCrory’s signature. (Charlotte Business Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Mississippi’s Supreme Court affirms refunding a 2013 rate hike earmarked for a proposed coal gasification plant. (The Sun Herald)
• Southport, North Carolina aldermen approve transferring assets from its electric utility to Duke Energy. (Wilmington Star News)

PIPELINES: A poll paid for by an energy group indicates support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Waynesboro News Virginian)

NUCLEAR: A think tank asserts Virginia could supply almost all of its power needs from nuclear energy while becoming a leading industry supplier. (The Washington Times)

COMMENTARY:
• Duke Energy persuaded North Carolina lawmakers change a law so it wouldn’t have to comply with certain coal ash regulations. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• Corporate social responsibility with renewable power: is Coca-Cola next? (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• Clean energy now outpaces agricultural exports in Florida, despite Gov. Rick Scott’s climate views. (The Energy Fix blog)