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)

 

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.