OIL & GAS: Oil and gas companies expect it will be more difficult to do business on federal land or obtain permits for pipeline projects under President-elect Biden. (Bloomberg)
ALSO:
• Louisiana oil and gas workers worry what Biden’s administration will mean for their jobs as it seeks to “transition” from the fuels. (WWL-TV Channel 4, WAFB)
• A Houston political science professor expects the Biden administration will show “some pretty hard love” for Texas energy companies but ultimately push them in ways they’ve already been moving anyway. (Houstonia)
• The 1,100 workers at Shell’s Convent oil refinery ponder their future as the plant moves toward shutdown and closure. (The Advocate)
• Federal regulators hand down an $80,100 fine over violations found after a 2018 fire at a Louisiana natural gas terminal. (E&E News)
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NUCLEAR: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues notices of violation and more than $900,000 in fines to the Tennessee Valley Authority for a 2015 outage in which operators did not follow procedures or document their actions. (Chattanoogan)
SOLAR:
• A largely rural Virginia county grapples with the pros and cons of a proposed $200 million, 149 MW solar farm. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
• A student team at Appalachian State University in North Carolina prepares for a solar-car endurance race next summer from Missouri to New Mexico. (The Appalachian)
UTILITIES:
• Kentucky Power asks state regulators for a rate increase and a decrease in credit rates for rooftop solar customers. (WFPL)
• Florida Power & Light prepares for Tropical Storm Eta as it gathers strength amid an unprecedented year for hurricanes. (Boca Raton Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Texas reporter roadtrips 20 hours from Dallas to Austin to Houston and back to Dallas to test an electric car. (KENS 5)
TRANSPORTATION: A transit agency in Little Rock, Arkansas, will buy eight compressed natural gas buses in 2021 to replace diesel vehicles as it cuts its budget to accommodate a decrease in ridership and funding. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
CLIMATE: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will meet with a climate team tasked with finding ways for the state to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. (The Advocate)
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COAL ASH: American Electric Power announces it will install new ash handling systems or lined ash ponds at three West Virginia power plants. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
TRANSITION: The acceleration of wind- and solar-powered “green hydrogen” may accelerate the decline of shale gas and even nuclear power. (CleanTechnica)