PUBLIC LANDS: The Trump administration’s relocation of Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado reduced the number of Black employees, drove out senior workers and created staff shortages, a government report finds. (Washington Post)
UTILITIES:
• A municipally-owned Colorado utility confirms its equipment sparked a deadly fire burning at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Ventura, California, residents urge state and federal authorities to block SoCalGas from expanding a natural gas compressor near an elementary school. (news release)
• Nevada’s largest natural gas utility pushes to expand its infrastructure even as environmentalists and investors call for a transition away from the fuel. (Nevada Independent)
SOLAR:
• Southern California Edison’s new time-of-use rate plan reduces financial incentives for rooftop solar by lowering payments for power pumped back into the grid. (Orange County Register)
• Montana’s largest rooftop solar installation goes online to power a Missoula detention center. (Missoulian)
CLIMATE:
• San Diego County officials unveil a plan to use “proven, scalable technologies” to eliminate carbon emissions by 2045. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The University of Montana prepares to break ground on a natural gas combined heat and power plant intended to decrease energy costs as it uses steam from electricity production to produce heat. (Montana Kaimin)
NUCLEAR: Pacific Gas & Electric officials say the utility still plans to close Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in 2025 despite a recent study touting the climate and cost benefits of continued operation. (San Luis Obispo Tribune)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators propose monitoring and limiting runoff of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from a Denver refinery. (Colorado Sun)
• A Wyoming company agrees to pay $2 million for natural resource damages from a 2015 crude oil pipeline spill into the Yellowstone River. (KULR)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Oregon regulators approve a plan to shift heavy trucks and buses away from fossil fuels by requiring manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles starting in 2025. (OPB)
• A million electric vehicles have been sold in California as of this month, and they have become the state’s largest export, an energy official says. (Utility Dive)
• Alaska’s first electric school bus performs well even in potentially battery-draining 40-below-zero temperatures. (Alaska Public Media)
COAL:
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon threatens to sue the EPA if the agency does not approve a proposed plan to cut emissions from the Bridger coal plant before the end of the year, when the plant will fall out of compliance with federal regulations. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Western U.S. coal production surges to meet increasing demand triggered by high natural gas prices. (S&P Global)
WIND: The Audubon Society sues a California county, claiming it failed to adequately assess and avoid impacts to birds and bats when approving an 80 MW Altamont Pass wind facility. (news release)
COMMENTARY: An environmental advocate calls on the Biden administration to revoke a permit to build a road to facilitate mining of metals used for clean energy applications in remote Alaska. (Washington Post)