Virginia officials approve contentious coal ash discharge permit

POLITICS:
• At an event in Washington, D.C., conservatives from the Southeast find growing support for clean energy: ​“this is now a family value.” (Southeast Energy News)
• Protesters pressure Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe outside a clean energy event in Roanoke. (Roanoke Times)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• Coastal North Carolina residents who oppose drilling are open to offshore wind, as long as it remains out of sight. (Southeast Energy News)
• How oil industry technology is helping to facilitate offshore wind. (Bloomberg)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: West Virginia’s attorney general previews the arguments he will use next week in his case against the Clean Power Plan. (West Virginia Record)

COAL ASH: Virginia officials approve a permit allowing Dominion Virginia Power to drain water from a coal ash impoundment and discharge it into the James River. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

OVERSIGHT: A Louisiana Supreme Court justice received campaign contributions from an oil company prior to changing his position on a fracking case. (Fox 8)

SOLAR:
• Louisiana residents seeking to appeal the state’s cap on solar tax credits are being charged a $300 fee. (WWL)
• Duke Energy says it has issued $5 million in solar rebates in South Carolina over the past year. (Palmetto Business Daily)
• A North Carolina entrepreneur wants to use ​“solar trees” to make the technology more visible in neighborhoods. (Triangle Business Journal)
• An Alabama county finalizes an agreement for a 72 MW solar farm; Walmart will purchase a majority of the project’s output. (Lafayette Sun)
• A Florida county delays a decision on siting issues for a proposed 74 MW project. (WUFT)
• Officials in a Virginia county anticipate a new solar project will save them more than $500,000 per year on energy costs. (Carroll County Times)

NUCLEAR: Developers of a new South Carolina reactor say refinancing will help cut cost overruns for the project. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• West Virginia’s governor awards $1 million to help laid-off miners in three counties. (Associated Press)
• Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidates are divided over a bill to provide support for union miners. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES: Environmental groups file a lawsuit challenging FERC approval of a natural gas pipeline project. (Sierra Club news release)

COMMENTARY:
• The Kemper ​“clean coal” plant is an ​“undue hardship” for Mississippi ratepayers. (Hattiesburg American)
• An Alabama official says biomass harvesting can enhance the health of the state’s forests. (AL.com)
• Florida utilities were ​“shrewd” and ​“devious” in crafting the solar amendment going before voters this fall. (Florida Today)