TRANSPORTATION: The Biden administration confirms the federal government is ending a Trump-era challenge to California’s authority to set fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards. (Los Angeles Times)
ALSO:
• Experts say electric vehicle adoption won’t happen quickly enough to cut emissions in the Pacific Northwest, and low-carbon fuel standards like the one working through the Washington legislature will be critical. (InvestigateWest)
• San Diego is testing a solar-power electric vehicle charger for six months as a possible solution for the city’s fleet of 20 electric vehicles. (NBC San Diego)
ELECTRIFICATION: Tacoma, Washington’s city council unanimously passes a resolution banning the use of fossil fuels in new city-owned buildings, and will consider doing the same for new residential and commercial buildings. (News Tribune)
EQUITY: Environmental justice advocates say they are having more of a voice in Colorado regulatory proceedings. (Denver Post)
OIL & GAS:
• Environmentalists claim California Gov. Gavin Newsom is planning to make an “imminent” announcement about a plan to phase out fracking in the state. (San Francisco Chronicle, subscription)
• A new American Lung Association study finds ground-level ozone increased significantly in New Mexico’s Permian Basin counties from heavy oil and gas operations between 2017 and 2019. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• New Mexico’s State Land Office is suing two oil and gas companies for failing to clean up abandoned wells and other infrastructure after their leases expired in 2018. (Albuquerque Journal)
CLIMATE:
• Wyoming joins nine other states in a lawsuit challenging President Biden’s executive order aiming to decrease greenhouse gases, with Gov. Mark Gordon criticizing the president’s “selective and highly biased feel-good rationale.” (Casper Star-Tribune)
• California’s climate goals lag behind the federal government’s now that President Biden aims to decrease U.S. emissions in half by 2030. (Los Angeles Times)
• The City of Honolulu announces a plan to decrease emissions 45% by 2025. (Honolulu-Star Advertiser)
EFFICIENCY:
• California’s utility regulator rules Southern California Gas improperly spent ratepayer funds on a campaign to oppose stronger energy efficiency rules which damaged the state’s clean energy progress, but fails to impose a penalty to dissuade future violations. (Earthjustice)
• A Colorado school district completes construction on roughly $3.2 million of energy efficiency upgrades, saving about $140,000 a year on its utility bills. (KOAA)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Hawaiian Electric releases a corporate sustainability report highlighting the utility’s progress toward the state’s goal to reach 100% renewable energy by 2045. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
HYDROGEN: TravelCenters of America partners with Arizona truck maker Nikola to launch hydrogen fueling sites for heavy-duty trucks in California. (Wall Street Journal)
MICROGRIDS: Idaho Falls Power begins testing a local water-powered microgrid meant to be used in the event of a blackout or regional emergency. (Post Register)
NUCLEAR: Arizona’s largest power utility is investigating the cause of emergency alarms sounding yesterday at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. (Arizona Family)
COMMENTARY:
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in an interview discusses how his state is helping to lead the U.S. in climate and clean energy efforts, including reducing the disproportionate impacts of global warming on BIPOC communities. (U.S. News & World Report)
• Three academics explain how achieving net-zero climate goals will depend on states with sizable public lands, especially in the West. (Relevator)