SOLAR: A cryptocurrency mining company wants to develop a 1,600 acre solar array south of Butte, Montana, less than a mile from where county officials rejected plans for a storage facility last week. (Montana Standard)
ALSO: A California judge is weighing whether to combine two complaints about Tesla’s solar roof pricing into a single class action lawsuit. (Business Insider)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• An Arizona regulator says the state’s proposed 100% clean energy requirement is back on the agency’s agenda in a commentary explaining why the initial plan was rejected. (Arizona Daily Star)
• By locating a renewable energy-powered data center in New Mexico, Facebook lured 10 additional wind and solar projects to the state, according to a company report. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
PUBLIC LANDS: Critics say the Biden administration’s plan to conserve public land will limit the country’s ability to mine lithium, cobalt and other materials critical to clean energy technology. (Deseret News)
GRID:
• California’s drought is cutting hydropower production and forcing more reliance on natural gas, hindering efforts to cut emissions. (Reuters)
• Nevada’s state Senate unanimously approves an energy bill that would expand transmission infrastructure. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• California regulators propose adding 11.5 GW of new generation resources between 2023 and 2026 to support the state’s transition to clean energy. (RTO Insider, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• California’s oil regulator issues a draft regulation that would ban all fracking permits starting in 2024. (Palm Springs Desert Sun)
• Colorado regulators approve a $12 million upgrade to Suncor’s refinery northeast of Denver as part of a settlement over years of pollution violations. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado now has the strongest setback rules for oil and gas wells, but they don’t apply to thousands of yet-to-be-drilled wells, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is caught between labor and environmentalists when it comes to creating similar setback rules in his state. (Denver Post; E&E News, subscription)
COAL:
• A Canadian company hopes to extract rare earth minerals and make cement from coal ash at New Mexico power plants. (Albuquerque Journal)
• The fate of a relatively new coal power plant is dividing Colorado Democrats regarding a sweeping climate change bill. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Environmental groups are opposing a New Mexico utility’s plan to exit its share of the Four Corners Power Plant. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• A new podcast series explores Wyoming’s efforts to save its coal industry by backing carbon capture technology. (Grist/Wyoming Public Media)
TRANSPORTATION: The city of Loveland, Colorado, is installing a compressed natural gas fueling facility as it transitions its heavy truck fleet away from diesel. (Reporter-Herald)
POLITICS: Power outages this summer could determine the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political career as he faces a recall vote this summer over last year’s grid crisis. (Los Angeles Times)
COMMENTARY:
• An editorial argues Colorado needs to increase its gasoline tax “after years of voters refusing to raise taxes to fund transportation needs.” (Denver Post)
• A National Grid executive writes that “targeted investment” in nationwide transmission infrastructure would create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and help fight the climate crisis. (Energy News Network)