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)