GRID: Heat-related power outages in the Northwest and California highlight the need for a transmission buildup and improved integration of the electricity grid as climate change’s effects become more apparent. (Washington Post)
OIL & GAS:
• Natural gas prices soar amid rising electricity demand and drought-induced hydropower shortages during the heat waves as California. (S&P Global)
• A Utah ski resort debuts a compressed natural gas power plant to supply 100 percent of its electricity. (KPCW)
COAL:
• Montana regulators reach a settlement with Talen Energy on a coal-ash pond cleanup plan for two units at the Colstrip Power Plant. (Montana Standard)
• Demolition workers remove the final remnant of the shuttered Navajo Generating Station in Arizona. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)
UTILITIES:
• A New Mexico regulator says a letter discussing details of a proposed merger of Avangrid and Public Service Company of New Mexico must be made public. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Colorado utilities look to temporarily increase rates to pay for price hikes resulting from Texas’s February cold spell. (Cañon City Daily Record)
• Pacific Gas & Electric starts work to bury powerlines to reduce risk of wildfires and safety power shutoffs. (Press Democrat)
SOLAR:
• Oregon lawmakers put $10 million toward solar and storage rebates for residential and low-income customers and low-income service providers. (news release)
• Rocky Mountain Power announces a 120-megawatt solar facility in rural Utah to power a Facebook data center. (news release)
STORAGE: A 400-megawatt-hour battery installation goes online in Ventura County, California after the community halted plans for a natural gas peaker plant. (PV Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California allocates $25 million from a Volkswagen settlement fund to build zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. (Daily Breeze)
• Developers of an electric vehicle charging network on an Alaska highway hope to have the system running by next summer. (Alaska Public Media)
• U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney sponsors a bill to end federal electric vehicle tax credits because she says the subsidy “disadvantages energy producers in Wyoming.” (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
MICROGRIDS:
• Hawaii becomes the second state to approve a service tariff to compensate microgrid owners for sharing power with the larger grid, but regulators are still working on specifics. (Pacific Business News, subscription)
• A California congress member sponsors a federal bill that would provide a 30 percent tax credit for microgrids to bolster grid resilience. (Microgrid Knowledge)
BIOFUEL:
• Developers break ground in Arizona on a facility to convert dairy cow manure into methane fuel for transportation. (Phoenix Business Journal, subscription)
• A northern Arizona power plant burns unmarketable wood from forest thinning projects to generate power. (Arizona Republic)
HYDROPOWER: A Washington water utility begins using a micro-hydropower system to generate power with excess pressure from its municipal pipelines. (news release)
COMMENTARY:
• A Utah professor suggests replacing water-guzzling natural gas and coal power plants with solar and wind to ease the state’s water supply crunch. (Utah Policy)
• A California clean energy executive and sustainability advocate say the state needs an electric vehicle authority to reach zero emissions goals. (Times of San Diego)
• Two climate advocates say heat waves in the Northwest and California emphasize the need to incentivize electric heat pumps that can cool and heat. (Canary Media)