UTILITIES: TVA joins a group of Southern utilities exploring the creation of a real-time, regional energy market that could lower costs and potential boost renewables.. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
ALSO: Entergy Arkansas customers are supposed to receive a $15 million refund by the end of July, but the utility is contesting an order by state regulators to make the payment. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
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OIL & GAS:
• Chevron will acquire Texas-based Noble Energy for about $5 billion in a move experts say is the start of consolidation in the U.S. oil industry. (New York Times)
• As the oil and gas industry booms in Texas, an increasingly common and deadly byproduct, hydrogen sulfide gas, is leaking and endangering workers and nearby communities. (E&E News, subscription)
EMISSIONS: A group of 20 states, including Virginia, are asking a court to review an EPA order saying it is not necessary to limit mercury and other hazardous air pollutants emitted from power plants. (Courthouse News Service)
SOLAR:
• Nearly 500 Norman, Oklahoma, residents will purchase enough solar energy from two new projects to power more than 150 homes year-round, and the rest of the power will be used by two Native American tribes. (Norman Transcript)
• Solar developers are in talks with rural Virginia county leaders to discuss how solar projects could help the areas out financially. (Daily Press)
STORAGE: A Southern clean energy grid could use storage to connect more people with wind and solar — but battery costs need to drop first and policies need to change, according to a new study. (Greentech Media)
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PIPELINES: TransCanada pipeline developers ask federal regulators for an extension until 2023 to complete a project that will carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia. (WDVM)
NUCLEAR: South Carolina utility Santee Cooper gets final approval for a $520 million legal settlement with customers over the failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant. (Post and Courier)