UTILITIES: Southern Company insists that it can reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while keeping natural gas as a central part of its business. (Greentech Media)
ALSO:
• Entergy partners with Mitsubishi Power to develop decarbonization projects at its utilities in four Southeast states. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• Tennessee Valley Authority will host a second virtual open house this evening regarding next steps at its Bull Run Fossil Fuel Plant. (Oak Ridger)
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PIPELINES:
• The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s developer asks federal regulators to lift a stop-work order so that it can wrap up work before winter. (Roanoke Times)
• A Houston firm purchases the Seahawk Pipeline project connecting the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins with an export terminal at the Port of Calhoun. (Houston Business Journal)
OIL & GAS: Texas oil and gas regulators plugged 1,477 abandoned wells in the latest fiscal year, exceeding a target set by the state legislature. (World Oil)
STORAGE: The falling cost of lithium-ion batteries is making electric vehicles and renewables more competitive with fossil-fuel burning cars and power plants. (Houston Chronicle)
OVERSIGHT: South Carolina lawmakers elect four new members to the Public Service Commission three years after the state’s nuclear project fiasco. (The State)
COAL:
• An Alabama environmental group calls on Gov. Kay Ivey to support more action to clean up a toxic coal site in North Birmingham. (Birmingham Times)
• A team of coal miners suffers smoke inhalation and one is hospitalized after a fire at a coal mine in Cameron, West Virginia. (Wheeling News-Register)
WIND:
• An Oklahoma Republican is among four U.S. senators introducing legislation to eliminate federal production tax credits for wind energy. (Lawton Constitution)
• Authorities are investigating an accidental fall death at a West Texas wind farm. (San Angelo Standard-Times)
SOLAR: A Kentucky university installs solar panels at its research farm to demonstrate how they can save money for farmers. (news release)
COMMENTARY:
• An analysis Dominion Energy reluctantly made public in Virginia last month shows the high cost to customers of propping up the company’s coal plants, an environmental advocate writes. (Virginia Mercury)
• Partisan fault lines are getting fuzzier as more Republicans recognize the economic potential of clean energy, a Florida publisher writes. (Florida Politics)
• As Appalachian Power studies the impact of closing two coal-fired power plants in West Virginia, local communities and stakeholders need to “weigh in and prepare for battle,” an editorial board writes. (Herald-Dispatch)