SOLAR: Solar companies see a drastic drop in demand, and analysts predict the pandemic will lower expectations for residential installations by up to 40%. (Greentech Media)

ALSO: Duke Energy asks North Carolina regulators for permission to take solar rebate applications twice a year instead of once due to the surge of applications this year that overwhelmed the company. (WFAE)

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REGULATION: With hanging politics, rising rates, objections to coal ash cleanup and anger over a failed nuclear project, utility regulation reform is on the table in the Carolinas. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscription) 

OIL & GAS: Record low oil prices could cause Texas’ university system to lose $300 million in funds from state oil leases. (Houston Chronicle)

PIPELINES:
• Kinder Morgan suspends construction on a controversial pipeline in Texas after a drilling accident allegedly sends clay and water into nearby wells. (Houston Chronicle)
• Construction on a natural gas pipeline that goes through Virginia continues despite the coronavirus pandemic. (Fauquier Times)

TRANSMISSION: President Trump’s administration joins NextEra Energy in urging a federal court to reconsider a Texas ruling that gives established utilities priority in building transmission lines. (E&E News, subscription)

COAL: Kentucky lawmakers pass a quickly written revenue bill that offers tax breaks to coal companies, among other industries. (Lexington Herald Leader)

EMISSIONS: Arkansas environmental regulators are relaxing rules to monitor and control pollution during the pandemic. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

COMMENTARY:
• Clean energy is part of economic recovery in states like Virginia and elsewhere after the pandemic, an energy analyst says. (Union of Concerned Scientists) 
• Pipeline companies’ continued work threatens public health in Virginia, a resident writes. (Staunton News Leader)

Lyndsey Gilpin

Lyndsey Gilpin is a freelance journalist based in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She compiles the Southeast Energy News daily email digest. Lyndsey is the publisher of Southerly, a weekly newsletter about ecology, justice, and culture in the American South. She is on the board of directors for the Society of Environmental Journalists.