CLIMATE: While California hit its 2020 climate target four years early, a new report finds emissions increased slightly in 2018, highlighting the challenge of deeper reductions in the future. (Los Angeles Times)
ALSO:
• California government leaders and private sector innovators are meeting this week to discuss ways the state can become carbon neutral by 2045. (Capital Public Radio News)
• A candidate for Montana’s Public Service Commission casts doubt on climate science, incorrectly claiming that modeling projections “haven’t panned out.” (Missoula Current)
• Scientists predicted that megafires hitting California and Colorado this year would be a consequence of climate change, but they arrived decades earlier than expected. (E&E News, subscription required)
• The head of a New Mexico faith-based non-profit says voters are starting to take notice of climate change, and are concerned about the state’s future. (New Mexico Political Report)
OIL & GAS:
• ConocoPhillips announces a deal to acquire a Permian Basin producer for $9.7 billion, but many investors are unsure if such mergers and acquisitions will be enough to protect the oil and gas industry from a severe decline. (Forbes, New York Times)
• The State of New Mexico and a major oil and gas company continue to monitor the area of a potential “naturally occurring” drilling mud spill. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
HYDROGEN: A new coalition of players in the heavy-duty hydrogen and fuel cell market aims to promote fuel heavy duty fuel cell mobility in 13 Western states. (CleanTechnica)
UTILITIES: The CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association says the company’s transition is complicated by serving co-ops in Wyoming and Nebraska who “have different opinions about energy than what New Mexico and Colorado do.” (Denver Business Journal)
PUBLIC LANDS:
• Public land plans in Wyoming and Montana could be in jeopardy after a federal court’s decision to invalidate several land-use plans approved by the Bureau of Land Management. (Casper Star-Tribune, The Hill)
• The Bureau of Land Management’s last oil and gas lease sale for the year is set for December in Wyoming. (Casper Star-Tribune)
TECHNOLOGY: The city of Phoenix is working with Arizona State University on a pilot program applying cool pavement coating to nine sites in a bid to reduce the temperature of areas covered by asphalt and concrete. (Associated Press)
SOLAR: Large solar power installations at two California shopping centers are complete and have started generating power. (Chain Store Age)
STORAGE: A Southern California water district is building four new battery storage systems that will boost its energy resilience and cut operational costs. (news release)
GRID: The outgoing CEO of California’s grid operator says “decarbonizing and reliability are not mutually exclusive objectives.” (S&P Global)
COMMENTARY:
• The CEO of a California solar and energy storage company says accelerating the state’s electrification transition would help with climate change as well improving the environment and economy. (Greentech Media)
• An Alaska state senator and two candidates say developing alternative energy infrastructure in the state would reduce costs and create economic opportunity. (Anchorage Daily News)