SNL Energy editors' picks forthe best stories for the week ended July 8.
1.
subsidiaryMidAmerican Energy Co.is trying to persuade Iowa regulators that requirements supported by , and — companies withinterests in energy-intensive data centers — could block one of the largestproposed renewable energy projects in the state, MidAmerican's Wind XIfacility, according to filings with the Iowa Utilities Board.
2.
Forcoal companies with available data, most reduced compensation given to theirtop executive in 2015, a year many in the sector struggled under a confluenceof market and regulatory pressures and began or ended a bankruptcy.
3.
TheUnited Kingdom's departurefrom the EU is likely to hold some benefit for the U.S. midstream oil and gassector, whose dividend performance attracts yield-focused investors if interestrates stay low, market observers and participants said.
4.
SNLEnergy explores the situation for oil-field services companies on the wrongside of a commodity price cycle: When drilling dries up, so does cash flow. Andbecause it happens to a lot of operators at once, there are more sellers than buyersfor all the surplus gear. "Companies I deal with that were selling $10million of goods per month are now selling $250,000 per month," said DerekAbbott, president of now-defunct Texas Shaped Metals.
5.
Fallingnatural gas prices continue to weigh on power values across the , withaverage prices in the second quarter marking a near 50% drop in value comparedto the spring of 2014.