NOTE TO READERS: U.S. Energy News will be taking a break for Labor Day, and will resume on Tuesday, September 8.

SOLAR:
Hawaii has now surpassed Arizona as the state with the most solar capacity per capita, according to a new report. (Pacific Business Journal)
• Murky data gathering about net metering limits in Nevada and other states undermine markets for solar energy. (Greentech Media)
Hawaii regulators block a utility’s proposed community solar project. (Pacific Business News)
A plan to install solar panels on a Pennsylvania school ends in a lawsuit. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

WIND: The wind power industry aims to avoid killing thousands of bats by lowering turbine speeds during the peak migration seasons. (National Geographic)

POLICY: Clean energy advocates say California legislation doesn’t go far enough: “Sometimes the legislative process takes a while to catch up to new information and new developments.” (Palm Springs Desert Sun)

COAL:
The U.S. now has fewer operating coal mines than it did in the late 1800s. (Bloomberg)
Federal regulators back keeping a Colorado coal mine open amid a challenge over climate impacts. (Associated Press)
• Mississippi Power said it will spend at least another $25 million to finish the Kemper coal gasification power plant, pushing total costs to nearly $6.3 billion. (Associated Press)
About 20 families living near a We Energies coal plant in Wisconsin seek representation over concerns about coal dust exposure. (Racine Journal Times)

OIL AND GAS:
Thousands of gallons of oil spill into the Mississippi River after two boats collide in Kentucky. (Associated Press)
A judge rules the Securities and Exchange Commission must move forward with a rule requiring oil companies and other energy firms to disclose payments to foreign governments. (National Journal)
California fines 30 oil companies for failing to report data on water use. (Los Angeles Times)
A Massachusetts mayor blocks a pipeline developer from surveying in her town. (Quincy Patroit Ledger)

NUCLEAR: Indecision over the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site is having a big impact on a nearby Nevada town. (Greenwire)

POLITICS: Environmentalists and the oil industry are in an ad war over a proposal to cut gasoline consumption in California. (Los Angeles Times)

TRANSPORTATION: Advocates in Michigan are “definitely considering all legal options” to try and block a planned highway expansion in Detroit. (Bridge Magazine)

COMMENTARY:
An Ohio utility’s proposal to make customers pay for uncompetitive power plants “represents everything backward and perverse in the electricity sector.” (Vox)
Industry-backed groups are defying conservative principles as the fight wind and solar. (Raleigh News & Observer)

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.

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