GRID: Battery storage, only recently considered an unattainable “holy grail,” is already providing electricity to California’s grid equivalent to a mid-sized power plant. (New York Times)
ALSO: California’s grid operator prepares for another searing heat wave to hit the region over the weekend. (Sacramento Bee)
***SPONSORED LINK: National Clean Energy Week Policy Makers Symposium is September 21-25. Register to hear from members of Congress and leading clean energy innovators. Register today at https://nationalcleanenergyweek.org.***
NUCLEAR:
• Developers of a small-scale nuclear reactor are undeterred as a third Utah city considers backing out of the project. (Reuters)
• The final public hearing on the environmental analysis for a proposed New Mexico nuclear waste facility draws a mixed response. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
COAL:
• The EPA announces a Colorado-based office that will take charge of remediating abandoned mines. (Colorado Sun)
• A company associated with Blackjewel’s Powder River Basin mines files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. (Wyoming Public Media)
OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico regulators are reportedly considering “more ambitious” restrictions on oil and gas emissions. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• A new analysis looks at how oil and gas companies are investing in technology tracking methane emissions on the ground, in the air, and from space. (Houston Chronicle)
OVERSIGHT: An Arizona consumer advocate is seeking an investigation into a regulatory official accused of withholding data unfavorable to the state’s largest utility. (KPNX)
UTILITIES:
• Supporters and opponents of Boulder, Colorado’s proposed electric-utility franchise agreement with Xcel Energy air their views during a virtual policy roundtable. (Daily Camera)
• Portland General Electric says it “no longer has net market exposure from the energy trading positions that led to previously announced losses” of at least $104 million. (Portland Business Journal)
CLEAN ENERGY: Critics say a program that helps Southern California homeowners pay for solar panels and other energy upgrades could allow unscrupulous contractors to prey on vulnerable homeowners. (Press-Enterprise)
COMMENTARY:
• Three California city officials say climate change is the cause of the state’s power capacity problems, and adding more emission-free electricity to the state’s grid is the solution. (Mercury News)
• Two Colorado think tank officials explain how the transition to green energy is critical to combat climate change and can improve power system resilience to threats including extreme weather. (GreenBiz)
• An Atlantic Council fellow says there is a lack of evidence supporting arguments that California’s adoption of solar and wind power undermines the stability of the grid. (Atlantic Council Global Energy Center)