CLIMATE: Critics fear Duke Energy’s 2020 climate report charts a business-as-usual pathway for natural gas that conflicts with North Carolina’s energy goals. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: Virginia Beach outlined plans seven years ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address sea level rise, but so far it has made little progress. (Virginian-Pilot)
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COAL:
• While Murray Energy’s bankruptcy case could soon wrap up, it doesn’t resolve questions about how long the struggling coal industry can last with competition from natural gas and renewables. (Energy News Network)
• A Kentucky coal miner suffering from black lung disease is now recovering from a successful lung transplant. (Associated Press)
• An Australian company with a troubled Kentucky coal mine sues the U.S. government because it didn’t get money offered to other companies impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. (WKU Public Radio)
PIPELINES:
• Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoes a bill that would have increased penalties for trespassing on pipelines, levees and other “critical infrastructure” facilities. (InsideClimate News)
• Mountain Valley Pipeline developers delay completion of the project to early 2021 and say it could increase the cost by 5% to around $5.7 billion. (Reuters)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. lost more than 100,000 oil and gas jobs due to the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from an energy company. (Houston Chronicle)
• A Houston offshore drilling company plans to lay off 135 workers due to low oil prices. (Houston Chronicle)
• Oil companies in the Permian Basin burned and wasted a record $750 million worth of natural gas in 2018, according to an Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report. (Houston Chronicle)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new law in Florida will expand electric vehicle charging stations along state highways, requiring state officials to send the governor and lawmakers a new plan by July 1. (Orlando Sentinel)
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SOLAR:
• A renewable energy company gets approval to build a 250 MW solar farm in Oklahoma that it says will produce enough energy to power 100,000 homes. (Lawton Constitution)
• Arkansas utility regulators are expected to evaluate three proposed solar farms this summer, including one that has a battery storage plan. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
WIND: A 419 MW wind farm in Texas is now online and will supply power to companies including Intuit, Lowe’s, and Brown University. (Energy and Environment Leader)