OIL & GAS: Alabama utility regulators approve a plan by Alabama Power to add about 2,000 MW of natural gas capacity — which will cost ratepayers $1 billion — but delay a decision on allowing the utility to add solar and storage. (news release, E&E News, subscription)
ALSO:
• Unless Louisiana’s governor vetoes it, a new bill will make it a felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison to trespass on oil and gas or flood control infrastructure if the parish or state is under an emergency order. (InsideClimate News)
• A U.S. senator from Louisiana introduces a bill to remove a cap on the share of money oil and gas producing states receive as part of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. (Daily Advertiser)
• Black Louisiana residents living near petrochemical sites protest environmental racism along with police violence. (Desmog)
• Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production is slowly returning after rigs shut down for Tropical Storm Cristobal. (S&P Global)
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SOLAR:
• Developers tell Henderson County, Kentucky, officials that they expect a 160 MW solar farm to be completed by 2023. (The Gleaner)
• Navarro County, Texas, officials approve a reinvestment zone so developers can build a 200 MW solar farm. (Corsicana Daily Sun)
• North Carolina solar developers pitch a plan to expand solar in Lebanon, Kentucky. (Lebanon Enterprise)
STORAGE: A Texas energy storage company says it will build 15 utility-scale battery storage plant sites near Houston and Odessa by the end of 2020. (Saur Energy)
COAL: Kentucky coal mining company Blackhawk Mining announces it has been acquired by a Czech Republic-based company. (Hazard Herald)
HYDRO: Florida researchers are experimenting with wave energy technology that they say within five years could produce 5 GW of electricity from turbines spun by the Gulf Stream. (Washington Post)
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GRID: University of Arkansas and University of Georgia researchers are working on projects to secure the U.S. electricity grid from cyber attacks. (UGA Today)
COMMENTARY: An attorney describes a virtual gathering of ocean conservation advocates this week to discuss how to stop the Trump administration’s offshore drilling plans. (NRDC)