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)

Lisa Ellwood

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).