OIL & GAS: The Biden administration won’t appeal a court’s rejection of approvals for ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve; the administration initially defended the project. (Alaska Public Media)
ALSO:
• A coalition of environmental groups petitions Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to cancel oil and gas leases off the California coast in the wake of this month’s spill. (E&E News, subscription)
• Huntington Beach’s city council votes to support a ban on new oil and gas drilling off California’s coast. (Los Angeles Times)
• U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, throws his support behind a recently introduced bill ending noncompetitive oil and gas leasing. (Farmington Daily Times)
UTILITIES:
• Five Northern California counties sue Pacific Gas & Electric over this summer’s 963,000 acre Dixie Fire, which the utility’s equipment is suspected of sparking. (KPIX)
• A Public Service Company of New Mexico filing regarding the power supply for a Facebook data center expansion befuddles state regulators. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Colorado Springs’ municipal utility warns customers utility bills will increase as much as 26% this winter due to soaring natural gas prices. (Gazette)
GRID: Rocky Mountain Power begins replacing 85,000 Idaho customers’ meters with smart meters to enable more efficient grid management. (KIFI)
SOLAR:
• A New Mexico county’s zoning commission votes to oppose a permit for a community solar garden after residents express concerns about impacts to views, wildlife and property values. (Roswell Daily Record)
• Some residents of a California community express concern about the potential for fugitive dust released during construction of a solar installation planned near a massive, open-pit boron mine. (23ABC News)
• Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base meets 100% of its daytime electricity demand with two local solar arrays. (news release)
WIND: Some residents of Colorado’s eastern plains welcome proposed wind projects and the jobs they would bring, while others push back against potential impacts to views and the environment. (Colorado Public Radio)
NUCLEAR: A federal watchdog agency calls on Congress to amend a law designating Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the sole location for disposing spent nuclear fuel. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
COAL:
• San Juan County officials move to require Public Service Company of New Mexico to demolish a coal power plant after next year’s scheduled closure. (NM Political Report)
• Sonoma County’s board of supervisors passes a resolution opposing a plan to ship Powder River Basin coal by rail through Northern California for export. (Press Democrat)
• Colorado’s Comanche power plant pollutes the city of Pueblo but sends its electricity to other parts of the state. (KOAA)