EMISSIONS: Virginia lawmakers who wrote the Virginia Clean Economy Act pressure Dominion Energy to “further expand its investment” in clean energy and efficiency, saying its integrated resource plan is not enough. (S&P Global)
PIPELINES: Attorneys general for Texas, West Virginia and 16 other states file a brief criticizing a court ruling that canceled a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and could delay other pipeline projects. (Austin American-Statesman)
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COAL:
• American Resources Corporation, which owns mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, has not complied with a bankruptcy court’s orders to pay for reclamation and employee wages, even after receiving $2.7 million in emergency pandemic funding. (Ohio Valley Resource)
• A federal court approves a deal requiring two federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of coal mining on endangered species like West Virginia’s Guyandotte River crayfish. (WVPB)
STORAGE: A debate between Texas’ electric grid manager and utility regulators over how to accommodate battery storage heats up due to a request by Tesla to make it easier to develop storage projects. (Houston Chronicle)
SOLAR: Lowndes County, Mississippi officials will offer nearly $25 million in tax breaks to recruit two large solar farms. (Commercial Dispatch)
OIL & GAS:
• As Virginia’s new clean economy legislation is set to go into effect, regulators grapple with a proposal for a combined-cycle natural gas plant that has been in the works for four years. (Virginia Mercury)
• Democrats and Republicans in south Louisiana argue over providing government-backed stimulus loans to the oil industry. (Houma Today)
• Only three of 12 listed oil and gas companies that received emergency aid for small businesses during the pandemic said they would return it ahead of an upcoming deadline. (Reuters)
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OFFSHORE DRILLING: Undersea avalanches are more common in the Gulf of Mexico than previously thought, according to seismic data, raising concerns about offshore oil platforms and oil and gas pipelines. (National Geographic)
COMMENTARY:
• An environmental group raises concerns about reclamation at Blackjewel’s former mining sites since the company is still struggling through a bankruptcy. (Appalachian Voices)
• A clean energy group interviews Knoxville City Council member Lauren Rider about climate and energy issues impacting the city. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)