SOLAR: A Hawaii solar company agrees to donate a legally enforceable $1.3 million package to local community groups as it seeks to advance its proposed solar facility; advocates say it could be a model for solving clean energy disputes. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

OIL & GAS:
• Beverly Hills, California, spends $40 million to plug oil and gas wells that a bankrupt company abandoned on a high school campus. (Beverly Press)  
• The Biden administration considers new protection measures for greater sage grouse, drawing ire from some Western politicians who fear the move could limit oil and gas drilling in Wyoming and other western states.
• A new sheen of oil near the site of the Oct. 2 southern California spill likely came from the same pipeline rupture, officials say. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Democratic U.S. senators express confidence that a proposed fee on oil and gas-related methane emissions in the reconciliation bill will survive the Senate’s vote. (Associated Press)
• Federal regulators begin to review their previous authorization of the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export terminal proposed for southern Oregon. (OPB) 

CARBON CAPTURE: Wyoming looks to develop carbon capture technology not only to save its massive coal industry, but also as a way to diversify its economy beyond fossil fuels. (Casper Star-Tribune)

UTILITIES:
• NorthWestern Energy’s plans to build a new natural gas plant in Montana stall upon objections from residents near the proposed construction site. (Billings Gazette)  
• California regulators find the state’s three largest utilities are on track to deliver 60% renewable energy to customers by 2030, but some smaller utilities and community choice aggregators are lagging. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CLIMATE:
• Environmentalists and pipeline experts say Hilcorp, the majority owner of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, may lack the resources or expertise to protect the infrastructure from climate change-induced floods or melting permafrost. (Inside Climate Change)
• Researchers find short bursts of high temperatures — like this summer’s Northwest heat waves — can pose a greater threat to plants and animals than long-term warming. (High Country News)

HYDROPOWER: Idaho National Laboratories develops technology using  ultracapacitors to allow small-scale hydropower facilities to “black start” and provide power to an islanded grid during a larger-scale outage. (news release) 

COMMENTARY:
• A New Mexico labor union official says a vote against the proposed Avangrid-Public Service Company of New Mexico merger is a “vote against the people who keep the power grid operational.”  (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• While a proposed experimental nuclear reactor offers promise, a Wyoming editorial board says it won’t solve the state’s economic woes stemming from fossil fuel dependency. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Former U.S. energy secretaries call for the continued operation of California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant beyond its scheduled 2025 closing date. (Los Angeles Times)

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Jonathan P. Thompson

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.