PIPELINES: North Carolina regulators reject a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension, citing concerns about the main project and saying it could cause “unnecessary water quality impacts.” (NC Policy Watch)
TRANSPORTATION: Advocates are counting on federal legislation to relieve a bottleneck in Virginia’s rail system, allowing for construction of a new bridge to accommodate expanded passenger rail service. (Energy News Network)
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COAL ASH: Duke Energy is preparing to argue before North Carolina regulators that it needs an $8-9 billion return on coal ash cleanup or its finances and credit will be at risk. (Utility Dive)
RENEWABLES: Facebook plans to build an $800 million data center powered by renewable energy in Gallatin, Tennessee, that is expected to employ about 100 people. (WBIR)
SOLAR:
• A solar cooperative launches in Hillsborough County, Florida, to help Tampa-area residents afford to go solar. (WFLA)
• Catholic churches in Virginia are leading the transition to solar with the help of a company that installs solar on parishes across the country. (National Catholic Reporter)
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OIL & GAS:
• A Louisiana journalist discusses what could happen next with lawsuits by several parishes against oil and gas companies for coastal damage. (WNNO)
• The Republican nominee for the agency that regulates Texas’s oil and gas industry is involved in a controversy over an oil field waste facility. (Houston Chronicle)
COMMENTARY:
• A clean energy group outlines where North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper stands on clean energy legislation. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
• The move to a clean economy is essential, but fossil fuel workers and the communities that depend on them shouldn’t be left behind, an environmental group says. (Environmental Defense Fund)