STORAGE: Looming PG&E public safety power shutoffs have Northern California homeowners rushing to install battery backup systems. (E&E News)
ALSO: California’s grid operator expects its storage capacity will increase to 923 MW by the end of the year, as long as all relevant planned projects are completed on schedule. (news release)
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SOLAR:
• The U.S. Department of Justice files an amicus brief in support of rooftop solar customers in a dispute over an Arizona utility’s fees. (PV Magazine)
• A utility-scale solar developer is acquiring land rights near coal-fired power plants including New Mexico’s San Juan Generating Station, hoping to open up lucrative transmission connections once the plants retire. (Energy News Network)
• Two subsidiaries of California retail giant Kroger announce the installation of a PV solar array of nearly 1 MW at the company’s 300,000-square-foot bakery facility. (news release)
WIND: A Wyoming county rejects a push for stronger setback rules that would have effectively blocked all new wind development. (Casper Star-Tribune)
ELECTRIFICATION: Piedmont, California’s city council is set to hold a virtual public meeting July 20 on an all-electric building ordinance. (Sierra Club San Francisco Bay)
COAL:
• A new report indicates the decline of coal could cost 27 counties dependent on it an average 20% of revenue. (E&E News, subscription)
• Xcel Energy faces increased pressure from Colorado environmental advocacy groups to advance the closure dates for the utility’s two remaining coal-generated power plants in the state. (Colorado Sun)
PUBLIC LANDS:
• An editorial in a Colorado newspaper could help sink William Perry Pendley’s nomination to lead the BLM. (E&E News)
• A bill advances in the U.S. House that would erect barriers to oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Alaska Public Media)
PIPELINES: Critics oppose a proposed 135-mile pipeline in the Permian Basin, noting the region’s emissions problems and ongoing oil and gas market volatility. (New Mexico Political Report)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Policymakers are growing increasingly optimistic about electric models of work trucks, commercial vehicles, and construction machinery, as evidenced by California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation. (Greentech Media)
• Hawaii regulators are considering a utility’s request to speed the adoption of electric buses in public, private, and school bus fleets. (Pacific Business News)
• Southern California Edison breaks ground on a $356 million program that will install at least 870 commercial charging stations for electric buses and trucks over the next five years. (Greentech Media)
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HYDROPOWER: A California hydro company partners with Bill Gates’ investment firm to develop a new turbine aiming to create climate-resilient hydropower along with improving fish survival. (BBC)
NUCLEAR: A House panel approves a spending bill that includes $27 million for interim nuclear waste storage, but no funds for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)