CLEAN ENERGY: An analysis finds U.S. corporations are making fewer clean energy investments as the pandemic creates uncertainty about future needs. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• Some Native American communities are turning to renewables in a bid to combat long-time unequal access to utilities. (The Guardian)
• Advocates say clean energy companies must confront race more directly in addressing equity issues, rather than focusing on income levels. (PV Magazine)
• Legal experts say a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling could allow state lawmakers to overrule regulators on renewable energy standards. (Arizona Mirror)

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OHIO: In a bankruptcy filing, officials from Murray Energy insist they have no knowledge of how a $100,000 payment to a dark money group linked to Ohio’s bribery scandal was spent. (Eye on Ohio / Energy News Network)

WIND: The vast majority of public comments in written and online forums before federal regulators support the Vineyard Wind project to become the first major offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR:
• U.S. commercial buildings have 145 gigawatts of untapped solar capacity potential, according to a new study by Wood Mackenzie. (Greentech Media)
• A Washington, D.C. homeowner wins his fight to increase the city’s limit on the size of solar installations. (PV Magazine)

PIPELINES:
• North Carolina regulators reject a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension, citing concerns about the main project and saying it could cause “unnecessary water quality impacts.” (NC Policy Watch)
• Mariner East pipeline construction spills 10,000 gallons of drilling mud into a Pennsylvania lake, causing environmental officials to shut down two drillings sites. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• A Texas company moves forward with a controversial natural gas pipeline despite pleas from music legends Willie Nelson and Paul Simon to stop the project. (Houston Chronicle)
• A Michigan agency is finalizing a review of whether Enbridge violated its easement to operate the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which could unlock Gov. Whitmer’s authority to shut it down. (Michigan Advance)

COAL:
• U.S. coal production and employment took a nosedive in the second quarter as demand dropped during the pandemic. (S&P Global)
• A company developing a coal export terminal in Oakland, California pushes to delay bankruptcy proceedings in the hope of getting a bailout from the Utah legislature. (Salt Lake Tribune)

TRANSPORTATION: Advocates are counting on federal legislation to relieve a bottleneck in Virginia’s rail system, allowing for construction of a new bridge to accommodate expanded passenger rail service. (Energy News Network)

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POLITICS: As a U.S. Senator, Kamala Harris has long championed climate and justice causes, which advocates say will help mobilize environmentalists to support the Biden campaign. (InsideClimate News)

COMMENTARY:
• A researcher says the U.S. electrical grid is “displaced in time” and is vulnerable to increased extreme weather from climate change. (The Hill)
• The move to a clean economy is essential, but fossil fuel workers and the communities that depend on them shouldn’t be left behind, an environmental group says. (Environmental Defense Fund)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.