SOLAR: An analysis of an Austin, Texas, neighborhood shows stay-at-home orders are causing people to use a lot more electricity at home, especially for air conditioning, redrawing the so-called solar “duck curve.” (Greentech Media)
POLLUTION: A small increase in air pollution leads to a 15% increase in the fatality rate from COVID-19, according to a Harvard study, and experts say states like Louisiana are high-risk. (NOLA.com)
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UTILITIES: An order by Tennessee regulators to stop utility disconnections during the pandemic doesn’t apply to municipal, cooperative or nonprofit utilities, which is how most residents get power. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
WIND: Ørsted completes a 338 MW wind farm in Texas that it says will generate enough energy to power 120,000 households. (Renewables Now)
OIL & GAS: A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers call for a $3 billion federal purchase of oil to replenish the nation’s strategic reserve. (Dallas Morning News)
COAL: Some Kentucky miners are jobless for the second time in a year: laid off first because of Blackjewel’s bankruptcy and now due to the coronavirus. (WTVQ)
COMMENTARY:
• Mountain Valley Pipeline construction sites are abiding by health guidelines and environmental rules during the pandemic, according to the developer’s deputy general counsel. (Roanoke Times)
• Three problematic abandoned mines in Virginia owned by Blackjewel may finally have buyers, according to environmental organizers. (Appalachian Voices)
• A Virginia landowner says the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is dangerous and could potentially explode or leak contaminants. (Roanoke Times)
• Dominion Energy delayed its rate hike request because of the pandemic but will likely ask South Carolina regulators for it later this year, an editorial board writes. (Post and Courier)