Progress, Duke easily reach early goals set by legislature - Triangle Business Journal

Progress, Duke easily reach early goals set by legislature - Triangle Business Journal:

Triangle Business Journal - by Frank Vinluan

"The legislation established a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard that required both Progress Energy and Duke Energy to obtain 12.5 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021. While the early goals are easier to meet, the targets get stiffer over time.

This year, utilities must get 0.02 percent of their electricity from solar energy, a mark that both Progress and Duke have met. The next solar benchmark is in 2018.

Raleigh-based Progress met the goal mostly by purchasing power from independently owned solar projects, says spokesman Scott Sutton. Duke, which is headquartered in Charlotte and serves parts of Durham, also has met the target with its own facilities as well as by purchasing power from other providers, spokesman Jason Walls says."

FCC's Clyburn Defends 'Third Way' Plan - Yahoo! News

FCC's Clyburn Defends 'Third Way' Plan - Yahoo! News:

Chloe Albanesius - PC Magazine – Fri Jun 4, 9:47 am ET

"The Federal Communications Commission's effort to regulate broadband services, pushed at the agency as a 'third way,' has been met with criticism and skepticism from ISPs and the mobile industry. But Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Friday defended the plan and shot down some of the more popular critiques."

Electric Vehicle Refueling Stations Coming to SC

Charleston Regional Business Journal | Charleston, SC:

"A California company is planning to install a network of public electric vehicle refueling stations in seven S.C. cities to prepare the state for the rollout of electric vehicles including the Ford Focus, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt.

Plug In Carolina selected AeroVironment Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., to supply, install and support the charging network, which is expected to be operational by Dec. 1. Neither AeroVironment nor Plug In Carolina identified the cities that will have the stations.

Plug In Carolina is a nonprofit organization sponsored by S.C. Electric & Gas, Duke Energy and Santee Cooper."

Alamosa Journal - Colorado Valley Finds Going Solar Is Harder Than It Looks - NYTimes.com

Alamosa Journal - Colorado Valley Finds Going Solar Is Harder Than It Looks - NYTimes.com:

By KIRK JOHNSON

Published: June 3, 2010

"The $180 million line, which has been planned for more than a decade, is meant to solve many of the valley’s problems in one fell swoop — more power in, more power out, more economic development in one of the poorer corners of the state. The billionaire, Louis Moore Bacon, bought the 172,000-acre Trinchera Ranch in 2007. He opposes the part of the line that will cross his property."

Post Tech - AT&T wireless scraps flat-rate Internet plan

Post Tech - AT&T wireless scraps flat-rate Internet plan:

Cecilia Kang - NY Times

"The company said that starting June 7, new customers of gadgets such as the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve (and soon Apple's 3G wireless-enabled iPad), will choose between two options:

1) A $15 monthly plan for 200 megabytes of data. If you go over that allotment, you will pay $15 for every additional 200 MB of data used.

2) Or $25 for 2 gigabytes of data. If you go over, you'll end up paying $10 for each additional gigabyte"

Maine AG clears ex-regulator over industry job - Forbes.com

Maine AG clears ex-regulator over industry job - Forbes.com:

Associated Press 06.02.10 02:33PM EDT

"AUGUSTA, Maine -- The state attorney general's office says former Maine Public Utilities Commission Chairman Kurt Adams didn't violate state ethics laws by accepting a job with a wind power company.

Prosecutors concluded Wednesday that Adams complied with state law by disqualifying himself from proceedings in which he had a 'direct and substantial financial interest.'"

Groups Urge FCC to Regulate "Hate Speech"

Groups want FCC to police hate speech on talk radio, cable news networks - The Hill's Hillicon Valley:

By Gautham Nagesh - 06/01/10 01:02 PM ET

"The organizations, which include Free Press, the Center for Media Justice, the Benton Foundation and Media Alliance, also argue that the anonymity of the Web gives ammunition to those that would spread hate.

The groups did not mention any specific programming on the right or the left in their letter, which supports a petition filed by the National Hispanic Media Coalition last year requesting a probe of the relationship between hate speech and hate crimes.

The groups argue the Internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news."

Democrats see 'big oil' as foil in Senate energy and climate legislation debate - TheHill.com

Democrats see 'big oil' as foil in Senate energy and climate legislation debate - TheHill.com:

By Alexander Bolton - 06/01/10 06:00 AM ET

"They want to make the energy debate a referendum on big oil companies and the nation’s dependence on oil. They believe this to be a potent line of argument in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico."

Water troubles: Public Service Commission hearing Tega Cay residents complain: 'All we see is black goo'

Water troubles: Public Service Commission hearing Tega Cay residents complain: 'All we see is black goo':

(Source: Herald; Rock Hill, S.C.)By Toya Graham"TEGA CAY Residents in Tega Cay are on a mission to make sure their position on a proposed water rate increase is heard by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina.

That message was clear at a May 19 hearing as opposition was sounded about the proposed 21.8 percent water rate increase.

'It's ridiculous,' resident Bernd Ebert said of Tega Cay Water Service's proposed water rate increase. 'It shouldn't be that much.'"