ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A U.K.-based electric vehicle startup with a contract to make delivery trucks for UPS announces a $46 million “microfactory” in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that will employ 240 workers. (Forbes, Rock Hill Herald)

ALSO: Ocala, Florida’s city council votes to purchase five zero-emission electric garbage trucks to replace diesel-powered vehicles. (Ocala StarBanner)

SOLAR:
• A Tennessee startup company helps clients determine the best locations to maximize solar generation and displace carbon emissions. (Times Free Press)
• A Texas county east of Dallas approves a reinvestment zone for a proposed solar farm and extends a deadline to start construction for another. (KSST)
• A major solar acquisition over the summer will help Duke University cover about half of its annual electricity as it seeks carbon neutrality. (Chronicle)

COAL:
• U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette in a visit to a Virginia coal loading facility dismisses pollution concerns from nearby residents. (Virginian-Pilot)
• A federal judge denies a motion by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to dismiss nine of 10 alleged Clean Air Act violations at the university’s coal-fired power plant. (news release/Center for Biological Diversity)

OIL & GAS:
• Hurricane Delta knocked out units at two oil refineries and caused flaring across the Gulf Coast, but did not damage the power grid as much as Hurricane Laura did a few weeks before. (Beaumont Enterprise, Engineering News-Record)
• A massive investment in liquified natural gas facilities has ground to a halt as the pandemic has suppressed demand for energy worldwide. (Marketplace)
• A new analysis by Goldman Sachs says a Biden presidency would be better for the oil and gas industry than a second term for Trump. (Houston Chronicle)

CLIMATE:
• A Florida businessman prepares to open a climate-oriented bank that will focus on financing solar projects, building retrofits and regenerative agriculture. (Orlando Sentinel)
• In a debate, Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue won’t acknowledge that human activities cause climate change, while his Democratic opponent Jon Ossoff proposes investments in infrastructure and renewable energy. (WABE)

UTILITIES: A Jacksonville, Florida, city council committee will vote on issuing subpoenas related to last year’s attempt to sell the city’s municipal utility. (Daily Record)

COMMENTARY: A Dominion Energy executive in response to an investigation into the utility’s lobbying efforts defends the company’s rates and says that Virginia’s Clean Economy Act will be good for its customers, (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.