UTILITIES: Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which supplies wholesale power to rural Western utilities, agrees to enforceable, near-term emissions cuts three times larger than under a previous plan. (Denver Post)
ALSO:
• The judge overseeing Pacific Gas & Electric’s probation stemming from a 2010 San Francisco natural gas pipeline explosion calls the utility a “continuing menace” as the probation period ends. (Bloomberg)
• Montana officials approve a new route under the Yellowstone River for a pipeline to feed NorthwesternEnergy’s proposed natural gas plant in spite of neighbors’ opposition. (KTVH)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators say the risk of oil and gas wells ending up abandoned is heightened when operators transfer ownership of aging facilities. (Colorado Sun)
• Energy analysts estimate the cost of cleaning up the nation’s abandoned oil and gas wells could reach $19 billion, far more than Congress allocated to the task in last year’s infrastructure bill. (High Country News)
• A real estate developer plans to drill 26 oil and gas wells in Loveland, Colorado, subdivisions, sparking residents’ opposition. (Coloradan)
• The U.S. EPA fines a Hawaii oil refinery $176,899 for federal Clean Air Act violations. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
• A coalition of environmental and Indigenous groups urges the Biden administration to end oil and gas production on public land by 2035. (The Hill)
• Future growth of Permian Basin oil production could depend on operators building gas gathering and processing infrastructure that would allow them to comply with new limits on methane flaring. (S&P Global)
COAL:
• A Colorado community grapples with a coal power plant’s and mine’s closure over the next decade that will eliminate nearly 300 jobs and wipe out the county’s property tax base. (Associated Press)
• Navajo Nation officials explore possible uses for a 78-mile rail line that carried coal to the now-shuttered Navajo Generating Station. (Navajo Times)
SOLAR:
• Carlsbad, California’s city council votes to oppose state regulators’ proposal to slash net metering payments for rooftop solar. (The Coast News)
• An analysis of industry data finds seven of 10 states with the nation’s largest solar economies are in the West. (Stacker)
ELECTRIFICATION: Olympia, Washington, plans to electrify city-owned buildings and other city-funded construction. (Thurston Talk)
TRANSPORTATION: Utah lawmakers consider implementing a mileage-based tax on electric vehicle users to fund roads. (Fox13)
STORAGE: California researchers explore using second-life electric vehicle batteries for grid-scale energy storage. (news release)
COMMENTARY: A California columnist says proposed lithium development at the Salton Sea could provide economic salvation for lakeside communities and resources to mitigate the lake’s problems. (Los Angeles Times)