ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE: Environmental justice activists celebrate the decision by Dominion and Duke Energy to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline following years of opposition to the project. (NBC News)
ALSO:
• The utilities cited cost increases and delays from legal challenges in their decision to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The project’s cancelation has buoyed opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, though the developer said the projects are very different. (WDBJ-TV)
• Some experts say Dominion is now set up to potentially deliver on renewable energy as the Virginia legislature has demanded. (E&E News, subscription)
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RENEWABLES: Dominion Energy and other utilities face pressure to limit their use of natural gas but also maintain that renewables are too unreliable and energy storage too expensive to be used widely. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
• Florida added more utility-scale solar capacity in the first quarter than other states, according to data. (S&P Global)
• Entergy Arkansas files a petition for the rehearing of a major decision by regulators that allows residents to continue receiving a 1:1 credit for unused electricity sent to the grid. (Talk Business & Politics)
• A historic salt processing plant in West Virginia goes solar to cut down on electricity costs. (WOWK)
• Duke Energy proposes a plan for “cluster” processing of utility-scale solar interconnection applications to speed up the process. (PV Magazine)
• Appalachian Power issues a request for proposals for up to 50 MW of solar energy in West Virginia. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
WIND: Texas regulators reject a major wind energy transmission project by AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company, but the project is still moving forward to serve Arkansas and Louisiana customers. (Longview News-Journal)
OIL & GAS: Louisiana environmental advocates say they’re being targeted by oil and gas lobbyists under a new law criminalizing protests. (WNNO)
COAL:
• Coal companies received at least $170 million in small business loans under the U.S. coronavirus relief program. (Bloomberg)
• Companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family, including two coal companies, received between $11 million and $24 million from the program. (ProPublica)
PIPELINES: Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway Pipeline faces many legal challenges, and the action against other pipelines in the U.S. could have ripple effects in Texas. (Texas Public Radio)
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UTILITIES: The decision about who will buy or manage South Carolina utility Santee Cooper is still undecided as the pandemic forces lawmakers to take a break. (WSPA)
COMMENTARY:
• A climate advocate says that since the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project has been abandoned, Virginia should no longer approve any fossil fuel projects. (Virginia Mercury)
• A columnist writes that clean energy is eclipsing oil and gas in Texas, and the Houston business community is finally waking up to that fact. (Houston Chronicle)
• South Carolina utility Santee Cooper needs major reforms no matter what company buys or runs it, an editorial board says. (Post and Courier)