COAL: Coal miners ask New Mexico regulators to support a plan to install carbon capture technology at the San Juan Generating Station. (Farmington Daily Times)
ALSO:
• PacifiCorp says it will close one of three generators at an Arizona coal plant this year, but will keep another facility operating until 2032. (Arizona Republic)
• Montana gives Navajo Transitional Energy Company a 65-day extension to operate its Spring Creek mine amid ongoing negotiations over the terms of a state permit. (Associated Press)
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CLIMATE: An Oregon environmental group says the state is lagging on climate action, noting that it does not have carbon-pricing policies in place. (Portland Business Journal)
NATURAL GAS: Los Angeles County leaders call for an “expedited” closure of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site, but residents want a firm deadline. (Daily Breeze)
CALIFORNIA:
• AT&T and Verizon representatives are set to testify before California lawmakers today about the impact of PG&E’s planned power outages on telecommunications. (Associated Press)
• PG&E is hardening equipment in the El Toyonal area of northern California in an effort to reduce wildfire risk. (Lamorinda Weekly)
SOLAR: California’s planned power shut-offs are driving big orders of BoxPower’s portable and turnkey solar power and battery units. (Sacramento Business Journal)
OIL AND GAS:
• Industry groups say Colorado’s new air quality control rules might force smaller operators out of the state. (Greeley Tribune)
• Colorado is set to tackle major changes to its oil and gas rules this year. (Denver Business Journal, subscription)
• Hilcorp and BP tell Alaska regulators their proposed $5.6 billion North Slope pipeline deal needs no public hearing despite public calls for more transparency. (Anchorage Daily News)
• The latest conflicts in the Middle East are raising calls for increased oil production in California. (Bakersfield Now)
• Colorado is on the itinerary of a national oil and gas trade group launching a national campaign to tell the industry’s story in response to concerns about climate change and proposed fracking bans. (Denver Post)
• Investigators may never know what ignited the flare-up that caused the death of a Colorado oil and gas worker at a natural gas well pad south of Durango. (Durango Herald)
FRACKING:
• A Colorado anti-fracking group proposes ballot measures to increase oil and gas setbacks and to require companies to front clean-up money before obtaining permits. (Colorado Independent)
• A 16.5 mile covered overland conveyor belt system could bring sand for fracking from West Texas into southeast New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
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GRID: A former California grid director says the state’s electrical grid would be hard to take down in the event of attempted hacks from Iran. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
COMMENTARY:
• The president of a California green energy company says delivering clean energy safely and reliably will require new technologies and new ways of thinking. (CALmatters)
• A clean energy communications and consulting expert says energy storage technology is key in the wake of widespread power outages and transmission issues globally in 2019. (POWER Magazine)