SOLAR: Facebook plans to power a new, $800-million data center in Mesa, Arizona, using 450 MW of capacity from three new solar installations. (Arizona Republic)
STORAGE: Crews break ground in Oahu, Hawaii, on a 185 MW lithium-ion battery installation to replace generation from a retiring coal-fired power plant. (Hawaii News Now)
GRID: A California natural gas-fired power plant that was the site of a May explosion for still-undetermined reasons reopens to help supply power to a heat-strained grid. (KTVU)
CLIMATE:
• In the wake of a dire United Nations climate report, Whitefish, Montana, officials double down on efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and consider creating a full-time sustainability coordinator position. (Flathead Beacon)
• A new study finds that the wildfire smoke blanketing much of the drought-wracked Western U.S. could result in less rain by affecting the way droplets form in clouds. (Phys.org)
• Three times more people died during the June heat wave in the Northwest than official estimates, according to a media analysis of mortality data. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico regulators will begin using stratospheric airships next year to pinpoint emissions sources on the ground. (NM Political Report)
• Wyoming’s drilling activity on public lands has tripled during the Interior Department’s oil and gas leasing pause. (WyoFile)
• The Biden administration’s approach to drilling in New Mexico’s Greater Chaco Region provides a critical test of its energy policy as it weighs competing tribal, economic and environmental interests. (E&E News)
NUCLEAR:
• The developers of an advanced nuclear reactor proposed for Wyoming ask lawmakers to tweak regulations and waive a $5 per megawatt generation tax to make nuclear projects more economically feasible. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A Montana referendum measure will give voters an opportunity to reinstate a law that requires a statewide election to approve or reject nuclear power facilities proposed for the state. (KPVI)
INFRASTRUCTURE: New Mexico projects standing to benefit from the infrastructure package passed by the Senate this week include a pumped hydro-storage facility proposed for the Navajo Nation and a bid to retrofit a soon-to-retire coal plant with carbon capture technology. (NM Political Report)
GEOTHERMAL: Construction is underway on a 10 MW geothermal facility that will provide power to community energy choice aggregators on California’s Central Coast. (Monterey Herald)
WIND: A Texas-based company opens a 56,000-square-foot wind power training facility in Broomfield, Colorado. (Denver Post)
UTILITIES: A California city considers extending its moratorium on utility shutoffs due to non-payment into next year. (Long Beach Press-Telegram)
COMMENTARY: A climate activist argues big tech companies could fight climate change and save money by using video meetings “rather than shuttle employees around the planet on airlines that … burned 7 million to 8 million barrels of oil per day.” (Los Angeles Times)