HURRICANE LAURA: Described as a “stroke of luck,” Hurricane Laura makes landfall away from a heavy concentration of Gulf Coast oil and gas facilities, with only limited damage reported so far. (Wall Street Journal, The Advocate)

ALSO:
• The storm, blamed for six deaths so far, has caused extensive power outages, leaving more than 400,000 people without electricity in Louisiana as of yesterday. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Dozens of pollution monitors were disabled in Louisiana and Texas ahead of the storm, as officials said they were not designed to operate in hurricane conditions. (Bloomberg)
• Nuclear plants in the storm’s path were still running at full capacity as of yesterday morning. (S&P Global)

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NUCLEAR: Exelon plans to close two Illinois nuclear plants next year unless the company receives state funding support, but company officials say the announcement is unrelated to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recently unveiled energy plan that includes utility accountability measures. (WBEZ, Southern Illinoisan)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: New Jersey legislators give final approval to a bill that gives environmental justice communities more say in the siting of polluting sources like power plants. (NJ Spotlight)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Researchers across the Midwest are developing cleaner aviation fuels that aim to significantly reduce the industry’s emissions. (Energy News Network)
• California air quality officials approve regulations aimed at significantly reducing pollution from diesel trucks and ships. (Los Angeles Times)
• State regulators approve Southern California Edison’s $437 million electric vehicle infrastructure program for 38,000 new charging stations, believed to be the largest program of its kind in the U.S. (Reuters)

POLLUTION: A new study says that exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a common pollutant from vehicle and power plant exhaust, could account for higher death rates from COVID-19 in some areas. (E&E News)

UTILITIES:
• Eversource CEO Jim Judge is blasted by Connecticut legislators in a five-hour hearing over the utility’s recent storm response as he hints customers may be reimbursed for some losses. (The Advocate)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority hires an independent consultant to take a look into its executive compensation after President Trump criticized the CEO’s salary. (Associated Press)

GRID: New York focuses on grid reliability as it shifts to more renewable energy, and experts say the state doesn’t have the same capacity challenges that California does. (Platts)

OFFSHORE WIND: A Long Island congressional representative writes to federal officials seeking answers for the delay in approving offshore wind projects. (WSHU) 

SOLAR: A new Audubon report calls South Carolina an “unstoppable giant” on growing solar energy, finding solar contributes more than $58.8 million in state and local taxes annually and supports 7,250 jobs. (Solar Power World)

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POLICY: Staff cuts made by the Trump administration could complicate Joe Biden’s energy plans should he win the election. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY:
• David Roberts outlines what a second Trump term would mean for climate change. (Vox)
• Citing California as an example, an energy writer warns the U.S. power grid isn’t being updated quickly enough to adapt to climate change. (Bloomberg)

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Ken Paulman

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.