RENEWABLES: The Tennessee Valley Authority got more power from nuclear and renewables than coal during the first three months of 2020. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
NUCLEAR: Dominion Energy says it will pay $25 million to resolve claims by U.S. securities regulators that a South Carolina utility it merged with misled investors about a failed nuclear project. (Reuters)
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SOLAR: After a year of a community solar project producing energy, participants in Tennessee receive energy credits for the first time. (Herald & Tribune)
PIPELINES: Nearly 80 organizations launch an ad campaign urging Dominion Energy to abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• Oil and gas companies are pushing a Louisiana bill that would kill lawsuits by parish governments against them over coastal erosion. (The Advocate)
• Houston oil field services company Halliburton lays off 1,000 employees at its headquarters. (Houston Chronicle)
• Some experts say even with the Texas economy reopening, it will take a long time for the oil and gas industry to bounce back. (KHOU)
• Federal regulators give Kinder Morgan approval to feed gas to its liquefied natural gas plant near Savannah, Georgia. (Kallanish Energy)
• A Houston liquefied natural gas company gets a state permit for a proposed export terminal, with stricter air pollution standards than normal. (Houston Chronicle)
• Texas regulators relax rules about where companies can store oil underground, raising concerns from environmental groups. (E&E News, subscription)
COAL: A judge approves a motion that could force former Blackjewel CEO to release bank statements to show why the coal company was starved for cash and left hundreds of Kentucky miners jobless and unpaid. (Lexington Herald Leader)
COAL ASH: Juliette, Georgia, residents meet with officials to ensure their efforts to study and stop coal ash pollution will continue after the pandemic. (WGXA)
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UTILITIES:
• Piedmont Natural Gas will provide $50,000 to assist customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee with utility bills during the pandemic. (Fox17)
• Dominion Energy expects a slow return to normalcy for its electricity loads in Virginia and South Carolina. (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY:
• Mountain Valley Pipeline construction is not an essential activity and puts communities and workers at risk of COVID-19, a farmer writes. (Roanoke Times)
• A wind industry group leader says Virginia’s Clean Economy Act will help the state’s economy recover from the pandemic. (Virginia Mercury)