PIPELINES: Dominion Energy CEO Tom Farrell will step down in October as part of an executive shakeup in the wake of the utility’s cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Greentech Media) 

ALSO:
• A New Hampshire utility drops its Granite Bridge pipeline project and instead opts to use existing infrastructure to expand gas service. (NHPR)
• The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs orders the shutdown of a pipeline delivering oil to a North Dakota refinery that the agency and tribes say is trespassing on land held in trust. (Bismarck Tribune)

***SPONSORED LINK: The ESA Annual Energy Storage Conference & Expo (#ESACon20) is a true 360-degree conference experience – gone digital. Featuring one-on-one conversations and interactions, group discussion, demos of real projects and more. Use discount code ENN2020VTL for 5% off. ***

OHIO: Murray Energy is reportedly “Company B” in documents related to the Ohio bribery scheme; the company gave $100,000 to a “dark money” group at the center of the state’s power plant bailout scandal. (Columbus Dispatch)

HYDROPOWER: A federal impact statement released Friday eliminates the possibility that four massive dams on the Snake River will be removed to preserve endangered salmon. (Associated Press)

PUBLIC LANDS: The writings of BLM nominee William Perry Pendley reveal a long history of “overt racism” toward Indigenous people. (The Intercept)

SOLAR: An increasing number of churches are installing solar power, which advocates say can provide a way for low-income people to access clean energy. (Energy News Network)

SMART METERS: A Minnesota consumer advocacy group pushes to make some anonymous smart meter data available to independent researchers, saying it could inform rate design and help identify neighborhoods with high energy savings potential. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors and charging company EVgo plan to deploy 2,700 fast-charging plugs across the U.S. over the next five years. (CNET)
• About 26,000 EV charging stations are publicly available in the U.S., but thousands more are needed to drive further EV adoption. (Associated Press)

FOSSIL FUELS: A climate reporter explores the similarities between the western U.S. and Saudi Arabia’s economic reliance on fossil fuels. (Quartz)

UTILITIES: Texas advocates say many eligible customers of competitive suppliers don’t know about a program to provide rate relief. (Houston Chronicle)

***SPONSORED LINK: Register today for emPOWER20 August 26-28, emPOWER is a virtual experience with 30 sessions and 40+ hours of content designed to foster a new kind of energy leadership. Join experts across the clean energy industry in finance, policy, and technology.*** 

POLITICS: President Trump is routinely lying about Joe Biden’s policy on fracking as Texas becomes a political battleground state. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: Recent bribery scandals in Ohio and Illinois involving power plants are part of a “wave of utility wrongdoing that has come to light in recent years” in the U.S., a columnist writes. (New York Times)

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.