SOLAR: Florida utility regulators are set to begin revisiting the state’s net metering policy at a workshop tomorrow after a state lawmaker raised concerns about the program. (Tampa Bay Times)
ALSO:
• Duke University will buy 101 MW of solar capacity via a Duke Energy renewable energy program — enough to cover about half of its annual load. (WRAL)
• A science, art and entrepreneurship school is Georgia’s first to run on 100% solar power after acquiring an additional 126 kW system. (Albany Herald)
***SPONSORED LINK: The National Solar Tour is going virtual! Sep. 24-Oct. 4. Meet solar owners from around the country. Hear about their experience going solar. Explore new technologies. Learn about solar’s role in energy equity and community empowerment.***
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Navistar announces that a plant under construction in San Antonio will produce electric heavy-duty trucks in addition to diesel vehicles. (San Antonio Express-News)
HYDROGEN: A federally funded research partnership in Texas aims to prove that renewable hydrogen can be a cost-effective fuel for both fuel-cell vehicles and stationary power. (Power Engineering)
STORAGE: Virginia utility regulators issue a proposed rule to put Dominion Energy on a path to 2.7 GW of energy storage by 2035. (Utility Dive)
PIPELINES:
• A judge in Virginia delays a hearing for two more months due to coronavirus concerns on an injunction to remove protesters from tree stands where they have blocked work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline since September 2018. (Roanoke Times)
• An investigation into the cause of a deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in Corpus Christi is expected to take at least a year. (Caller Times)
• A break in a previously repaired segment of the aging Colonial Pipeline caused a 272,580-gallon gasoline spill in North Carolina in August. (Progressive Pulse)
OIL & GAS:
• Oil and gas companies are in a rush to secure permits ahead of a potential Joe Biden presidency, with an 80% spike in activity over three months. (E&E News)
• Hurricane Sally slowly moved away from Gulf Coast oil fields after forcing more than a quarter of U.S. oil and gas production to shut down. (Reuters)
OVERSIGHT:
• Virginia regulators grant Gov. Ralph Northam’s request to extend a moratorium on utility disconnections until Oct. 5. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A Texas businessman running for a seat on the state’s oil and gas regulatory board is bogged down in legal and environmental disputes at an oil field waste business he founded. (E&E News)
• Entergy Arkansas files a federal lawsuit challenging state regulators’ decision not to let it recover $135 million in costs related to payments it made to its sister utilities in other states. (Democrat Gazette)
BUILDINGS: A county board in North Carolina unanimously votes to require all new county buildings over 10,000 square feet to meet LEED Gold standards and be built to hold solar power systems. (Citizen Times)
TRANSIT: The leading candidates for mayor in Richmond, Virginia, are turning their attention to the issue of transit equity, including the possibility of free transit service. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
***SPONSORED LINK: National Clean Energy Week Policy Makers Symposium is September 21-25. Register to hear from members of Congress and leading clean energy innovators. Register today at https://nationalcleanenergyweek.org.***
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators argue that environmental groups can’t challenge their renewal of licenses for the Turkey Point nuclear power plant yet because administrative appeals are still ongoing. (Law360, subscription)
COMMENTARY: A Florida affordable housing advocate says solar panels can help families lower energy bills, and that regulators should allow big utilities to gut the state’s net metering policy. (Tampa Bay Times)