Walmart vows to eliminate emissions by 2040

CLIMATE: Walmart says it will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations by 2040 without using carbon offsets by securing renewable energy and electrifying its transportation fleet. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• West Virginia environmental leaders form a new group focused on educating the public on the causes and solutions to climate change. (MetroNews)
• North Carolina’s state climate council is scheduled to meet next week. (Coastal Review Online)

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OFFSHORE DRILLING: President Trump says he will add North Carolina his recently announced offshore drilling ban in Southeast states. (Associated Press)

STORAGE: The Tennessee Valley Authority announces it is installing its first grid-scale battery storage system at an industrial complex near Knoxville. (Chattanoogan)

SOLAR: Dominion Energy proposes to build the largest solar array in downtown Richmond on the top of a parking garage next to its corporate headquarters. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

PIPELINES:
• A pipeline developer has employed a Louisiana lawmaker to help it push a project through Black and Indigenous communities. (Southerly)
• A Memphis-area school district objects to an easement request to run an oil pipeline under its property. (Commercial Appeal)
• A Mountaineer Gas pipeline explodes in West Virginia after utility crews digging a trench for a new pipeline struck an existing line. (Morgan County USA)

UTILITIES:
• A new report says utilities like Duke, Dominion and Southern Company won’t be able to meet decarbonization goals unless they reduce their reliance on natural gas, find ways to ​“baseload” solar and wind power, and radically expand energy efficiency and demand response. (Greentech Media)
• NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries hired lobbyists and advisors with deep ties to city leaders as it sought to purchase Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility. (Energy & Policy Institute)

COAL ASH:
• Virginia, North Carolina and the federal government enter a consent decree to finalize a restoration plan and environmental assessment related to the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill. (Augusta Free Press)
• North Carolina regulators say coal ash used as structural fill under a parking lot spilled into a stream after a sinkhole formed. (Progressive Pulse)

POWER PLANTS: Sunrise El Paso and other climate action advocates protest the addition of a new generator at an El Paso, Texas, natural gas power plant. (KTSM)

POLITICS: After decades of backing climate deniers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorses several Democrats in competitive races who support climate action, including Oklahoma Rep. Kendra Horn. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:
• A South Carolina editorial board says moving away from monopoly control of the state’s electricity system has potential to benefit ​“pretty much everybody” with the possible exception of the power companies. (Post and Courier)
• The link between COVID-19 and air pollution makes accelerating the transition to electric vehicles more urgent than ever, a Tallahassee electric vehicle advocate writes. (Tallahassee Democrat)