HURRICANE LAURA: Oil facilities and nuclear plants prepare for the impact of Hurricane Laura on the Gulf Coast, which as of last night was close to becoming a Category 5 storm. (Texas Tribune, S&P Global)
UTILITIES:
• A new report finds 8 of the 10 largest utilities in the U.S. plan to resume shutoffs for nonpayment, and in some states as many as a third of households are behind on payments. (CNBC)
• Xcel Energy proposes reduced electric rates for up to 10 years for new and expanding Colorado businesses. (Denver Post)
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CLIMATE:
• Once considered a radical idea, federal and state policymakers are increasingly planning to use public funds to relocate flood-prone communities. (New York Times)
• Pennsylvania Republicans holding hearings to oppose the state’s joining a regional emissions cap-and-trade agreement rely on a climate-science denier funded by the fossil fuel industry. (DeSmog)
POLICY: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s energy plan would likely take a proposal for a state-run capacity market off the table, potentially ending a dispute between clean energy advocates and renewable energy companies. (Energy News Network)
TRANSMISSION: An agreement would offload more Great Plains wind power from the Grain Belt Express transmission line into Missouri, where renewable energy demand is growing. (Energy News Network)
CLEAN ENERGY: A California project is helping to transition disadvantaged communities from wood and propane to cleaner energy sources. (Fresno Bee)
STORAGE: Duke Energy installs the largest battery storage system in North Carolina, a 9 MW system next to a substation near Asheville. (Power Engineering)
NATURAL GAS: After NASA discovered last week that a Los Angeles natural gas plant has been leaking 10,000 cubic feet of methane per hour, a city official says it will take several months to address the problem. (Reuters)
PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asks a federal appeals court to reverse a ruling that scrapped an environmental permit for the Dakota Access pipeline. (Reuters)
• Federal regulators grant a three-year extension to the developers of a pipeline in Maryland that goes under the Potomac River as they battle in court over state permits. (Herald-Mail)
NUCLEAR:
• Attorney General Dave Yost is preparing a lawsuit to stop ratepayer surcharges for two nuclear plants at the center of a $61 million corruption scandal if state legislators don’t repeal the law. (Toledo Blade)
• Another Utah city votes to withdraw from participating in a next-generation nuclear power plant, citing uncertainty about rising costs. (Daily Herald)
COAL: Federal regulators allege in a discrimination complaint that a Harlan County coal company wrongly fired a miner for raising a safety concern. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: More delivery companies are working to electrify their fleets, which could have a substantial impact on emissions. (New York Times)
COMMENTARY:
• “It’s not coming, it’s here”: Bill McKibben says we can’t afford to waste another presidential term failing to act on climate change. (New Yorker)
• An energy markets advisor says unforeseen opportunities for energy investors will be created in states’ pursuit of 100% clean energy. (Forbes)