This week Americans commemorated the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, said farewell to the clothing chain Century 21 that survived 9/11 but couldn’t outlast the coronavirus, and watched Oregonians evacuate from wildfires. Despite 2020’s continued bad news, Americans are relieved the NFL is back and “SNL” will be “Live from New York” once again soon.

Today gamers are celebrating National Video Games Day, while others are worried about a robot writing an article as millions of children began virtual school this week.

These stories and more helped to get us through this week, but here are our favorite energy headlines to help you enjoy the weekend. In case you missed last week’s, check them out here.

1Opposition to pipelines costs jobs, needed infrastructure

Nearly $14 billion of investment in delayed pipeline projects in 14 states — including five “battleground” contests in the 2020 presidential election — is at risk. The Epoch Times explains how these projects could create more than 66,000 new jobs and boost the nation’s post-COVID economic recovery.

2California rooftop solar blocked by wildfire smoke

When wildfires tinted the Western skies this week, homeowners with their own rooftop solar systems realized sunlight couldn’t reach them through the haze. Bloomberg reports on how earlier this week was the worst generation day ever, with many homeowners only generating enough to power a light bulb or to dry a load of laundry.

3Renewable energy kites generate power in the air

Researchers are studying how the lightness of kites can be applied to green energy production. The Good News Network breaks down how renewable energy kites or small flying wind turbines, use 10 times less material at half the cost of traditional options.

4Oil-field service companies are adopting clean energy tech

The largest oil-field services companies in the world are accelerating adoption of clean energy technology and renewables. The Houston Chronicle explains why this is occurring as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the industry.

5Scientists marvel at an energy storage system relying on gravity

Last week, an energy startup began construction of an energy storage system powered by gravity. Tech Xplore describes how this technology manipulates massive weights in a tall shaft to store and deploy energy as needed.