CORRECTION: An item in yesterday’s newsletter should have said coal plants operated by regulated, vertically integrated utilities are less likely to be economically dispatched compared to merchant plants in grid operator MISO’s territory.

CLEAN ENERGY: The International Energy Agency’s new annual global outlook predicts solar will account for 80% of new generation capacity over the next decade, while also projecting oil use will “plateau” in 2030. (Reuters, CNBC)

SOLAR:
President Trump wants to increase the tariff on imported solar modules and eliminate an exemption for two-sided panels. (Greentech Media)
New Mexico’s largest utility announces four solar-plus-storage projects to replace the generation capacity that will be lost following the closure of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. (PV Magazine)

COAL:
• U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette in a visit to a Virginia coal loading facility dismisses pollution concerns from nearby residents. (Virginian-Pilot)
• Counties with closing coal plants that delivered Pennsylvania to President Trump four years ago may have less impact this year as the industry’s decline accelerates. (E&E News, subscription required)

HYDROPOWER: A new agreement aims to break the current deadlock over hydropower between environmentalists and the hydropower industry. (New York Times)

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)

UTILITIES: Exelon reportedly considers shedding its nuclear power plants and other assets and concentrating on its utility businesses in several states. (Bloomberg)

GRID: The lone Democrat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says a recent decision interferes with New York’s ability to determine its electricity resource mix. (Utility Dive)

WIND: Companies remain interested in Great Lakes offshore wind development, driven in part by limited sites along the East Coast. (Greentech Media)

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)
• Interstate 94 through southeastern Wisconsin now features “EV ready” signage notifying drivers of fast-charging stations available every 50 miles. (Wisconsin State Journal)

POLITICS: 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)

COMMENTARY:
• A Wyoming journalist says the state needs to stop its dark-money contributions to a coal advocacy group. (WyoFile)
• 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)

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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.