CLIMATE: California State Sen. Scott Wiener introduces a bill that would require large corporations to reveal their greenhouse gas emissions on a yearly basis and set reduction targets. (San Francisco Chronicle)
ALSO:
• President Biden faces a protracted battle with fossil fuel industries over his new executive orders focused on fighting climate change. (Washington Post, New York Times)
• Opinions are sharply divided in Montana on President Biden’s executive orders tackling climate change, with Sen. Steve Daines threatening to introduce legislation prohibiting a federal freeze on oil and gas leases. (Missoula Current)
OIL & GAS:
• The Colorado-based Western Energy Alliance petitions a federal court to overturn Biden’s temporary suspension of leasing on public land. (Bloomberg)
• The Biden administration continues to issue drilling permits for leases that predate the moratorium. (Bloomberg)
• New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich supports a temporary ban on new federal oil and gas leases, and says the state needs a plan to eventually transition to a zero carbon, zero pollution economy, but state industry leaders vehemently disagree. (Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal)
• Colorado State Sen. Bob Rankin is concerned that President Biden’s moratorium on new federal leases could be the collapse of the Western Slope’s oil and gas production. (CBS Denver)
• Locals in the Wyoming county “where modern day fracking was born” are also expressing a similar concern about the economic impact for their area. (Wyoming Public Media)
PUBLIC LANDS: Republicans are stepping up their opposition to New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland’s nomination to lead the Interior Department. (E&E News)
SOLAR:
• A Hawaii cooperative is developing a 240 MW solar and pumped hydro storage project that is expected to provide electricity at night. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• A Washington bill would prevent the state’s energy siting authority from overriding county objections to solar projects. (Capital Press)
UTILITIES: PG&E is moving half of its electricity rateplayers to a new time-of-use plan by March 2022 that offers reduced energy costs when energy demand is low, and renewable resources are the most abundant. (Smart Energy)
STORAGE: A 400 MW battery energy storage facility in Southern California begins operations. (news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Los Angeles mother-daughter environmental justice duo are promoting the benefits of electric vehicles, and the rebates and other incentives available to assist with their purchase. (KABC)
• A rural Colorado electric cooperative has a new electric vehicle charging station thanks to a state grant, and additional support from Tri-State Generation and Transmission. (Holyoke Enterprise)
• A new electric vehicle fast charging station is installed at a South-central California rest area, one of nine new deployments throughout the state. (Bakersfield Californian, Patch)
EFFICIENCY: Work begins on a net-zero condo development at a Colorado ski resort. (Denver Post)
COMMENTARY:
• Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso in a speech to the Senate accuses President Biden of “painting a target on the back of American energy” through his executive orders. (Laramie Boomerang)
• A Rocky Mountain Institute official and sustainability expert advocate for all-electric homes, citing carbon emissions that comes from burning fossil fuels for heating and cooking, and gas in particular. (Mountain Town News)