Elon Musk, Bob Murray spar over climate denial

CLIMATE: Tesla and SolarCity co-founder Elon Musk criticizes the CEO of Murray Energy for his denial of climate science after the coal baron called his automotive company ​“a fraud.” (Huffington Post)

SOLAR:
• Solar permits issued on the Hawaiian island of Oahu are down 40 percent compared to last year, according to a new report. (Pacific Business News)
• The Republican chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission fought to make solar part of the state’s energy mix and says it’s not a partisan issue. (Yale Climate Connections)
• A Georgia solar industry group says Georgia Power has failed to meet a requirement to have 100 MW of solar power under contract by the end of the year, but the utility has denied the allegations. (Utility Dive)
• The Missouri Public Service Commission approves a major utility’s proposal to build a 500-kilowatt community solar array, giving residential and small-business customers the option of buying up to half of their energy from the project. (Midwest Energy News)

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POLLUTION: Occupational health experts believe the oil released in the 2010 BP spill and a cleaning chemical that followed created a toxic stew in the Gulf of Mexico that sickened thousands of locals with untreatable illnesses. (Newsweek)

OIL & GAS:
• Texas park officials say they haven’t conducted any research on the effects of oil drilling in Balmorhea State Park, despite prior statements that there was ​“no evidence to indicate concern” about a company’s plans to drill in the area. (FuelFix)
• A town in California’s wine country is fighting to get parked railroad tanker cars filled with hazardous petroleum products out of the neighborhood. (San Francisco Chronicle)

PIPELINES:
• Tribal members say they plan to hunker down at a protest camp in North Dakota as they continue to fight the legal case against the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite a three-judge panel granting permission to continue construction along part of the pipeline’s route. (New York Times/​The Hill)
• Twenty-seven protesters are arrested during mass demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline at two work sites in North Dakota, including ​“Divergent” actress Shailene Woodley. (Bismarck Tribune)
• An 83-year-old widow is fighting a pipeline company that wants to survey her Virginia land to chart a route for a natural gas pipeline. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

FRACKING: An 80-year-old nun in Texas is leasing mineral rights to fracking developers and using the proceeds to fund industry watchdog initiatives. (The Guardian)

NATURAL GAS: A Texas utility files an application to build a $937.3 million, gas-fired power plant. (FuelFix)

COAL: North Dakota taxpayers and coal companies continue to fund efforts to promote the coal industry in Minnesota. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY: Corporations interested in boosting their renewable energy portfolios could develop clean energy projects on contaminated lands with the help of various governmental incentives. (Energy Collective)