Coast Guard secures blowout at unplugged Louisiana oil well

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FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. Coast Guard announces it has controlled a leaking ​“geyser of oil” from an 82-year-old well in Louisiana that’s been inactive for nearly a decade, but which was never plugged. (CBS News, Times-Picayune)

• A 5.4 magnitude earthquake strikes a part of west Texas where experts say the oil and gas industry’s injection of wastewater is increasing pressure and raising it to a ​“critically stressed” level. (Houston Chronicle)

• Louisiana residents and its fishing industry worry about the cascading effects of new liquified natural gas export facilities under construction along the Calcasieu River, which a conservation group has already ranked as the ninth most endangered river in the U.S. (The Lens)

• A new federal study maps the locations of underground aquifers in Appalachia, on the Gulf Coast, and elsewhere to determine whether they are vulnerable to orphan well leaks. (Inside Climate News)

• Four Virginia coal miners sue a coal company for laying off 140 miners last month without the required 60 days’ written notice under the federal WARN Act. (Mountain Top Media)

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request for a water permit for a spur into North Carolina falls under Trump’s ​“energy emergency” and should receive expedited permitting. (E&E News)

WIND

• Labor and workforce transition advocates discuss how military veterans could fill a projected gap in the offshore wind industry, which a federal lab projected will need an additional 124,000 workers by 2030. (Virginian-Pilot)

• Dominion Energy’s CEO says Trump’s tariffs will add at least $120 million and potentially up to $500 million to the cost of its now $10.8 billion offshore wind farm near Virginia. (Utility Dive)

• An energy company signs an agreement to provide power to Microsoft from a 335 MW wind farm in West Virginia. (news release)

SOLAR

• West Virginia-based Solar Holler celebrates reaching $100 million in solar contracts since it launched in 2022, with 87% of that located in West Virginia. (State Journal)

• A Virginia county board considers changing its solar ordinance to require developers to meet with the county administrator, hold a public meeting, provide a traffic plan, account for wildlife and cultural resources, and lay out a decommissioning plan. (Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch)

CLIMATE

• Louisiana’s $3 billion program to restore a stretch of coastline that was devastated by the 2010 Gulf oil spill is in jeopardy after the U.S. Army Corps suspended its permit for ​“deliberately withheld” information — possibly an unfavorable study that Gov. Jeff Landry claims was concealed by his predecessor. (Associated Press)

• Texas lawmakers consider a bill to reform how utilities can acquire emergency generators, as well as other legislation sparked by extreme weather-driven outages across Houston. (Houston Chronicle)

• North Carolina localities wait for federal recovery money from Hurricane Helene that could take months if not years to arrive, while state funds have been diminished by a focus on matching federal dollars. (Carolina Public Press)

FEDERAL CUTS

• The U.S. EPA cancels a $20 million grant to fund eight Virginia projects that include energy-efficient workforce housing, energy efficiency improvements at child-care centers, and research to identify telehealth hubs that could also serve as safe locations during natural disasters. (Cardinal News)

COMMENTARY

• Dominion Energy’s plans to build more gas-fired power plants instead of renewables will lead to higher power bills for ratepayers who bear the fuel costs, writes the Virginia Chapter director of the Sierra Club. (Virginian-Pilot)

• Virginia’s Democratic candidate for governor says local governments should still have say over solar projects and data centers but the state could provide better technical information and guidance, and expresses support for small modular reactors, writes an editor. (Cardinal News)