LITHIUM: A federal judge allows the developer of a proposed lithium mine in Nevada to go ahead with preliminary excavation, thereby denying opponents’ bid to stop the work on environmental grounds. (Reuters)
CLIMATE:
• Last month’s Northwest heatwave was the deadliest weather-related event in Washington’s history, as health officials revise the death toll to 112. (KUOW)
• Utah’s Great Salt Lake hits an all time record-low level due to prolonged drought. (Associated Press)
• Climate change is disproportionately affecting people of color in New Mexico, according to climate experts. (NM Political Report)
COAL:
• A Washington county that held off a proposal for a coal export terminal will vote this week on a permanent ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure. (KNKX)
• A Colorado power plant comes back online after a fire in a coal-storage facility shut the facility down. (Fort Morgan Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicle-manufacturer Falcon announces plans to build its final-assembly facility in Sheridan, Wyoming. (Wyoming Tribune)
• A California school district plans to add eight electric school buses to its fleet this fall. (news release)
• Anaheim, California’s public transit network plans to replace five liquid natural gas-powered buses with electric ones as part of its goal to run a zero-emission fleet by 2025. (news release)
• A Colorado energy-efficiency nonprofit gives e-bikes to income-qualifying essential workers who were impacted by the pandemic. (Durango Herald)
UTILITIES:
• Past wildfire victims who were compensated in part with Pacific Gas & Electric stock see the value of their payment trust plunge as the Dixie Fire — which the utility says may have been caused by its equipment — continues to burn. (ABC10)
• A court is likely to decide the fate of an Alaska program, defunded by the governor earlier this year, meant to keep the cost of rural electricity down. (KTOO)
GRID:
• Power use in California did not decrease during recent conservation alerts, according to the state’s grid operators. (Newsweek)
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill expanding a renewable energy program’s eligibility to tribal governments. (Sierra Sun Times)
• A major transmission line carrying Oregon hydropower to California is back online even though the Bootleg Fire which forced its near-shutdown continues to burn. (S&P Global)
HYDROPOWER: Pacific Gas & Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs extend a partnership agreement on a hydropower facility in Oregon. (Daily Energy Insider)
EFFICIENCY: Construction begins on Arizona’s first “living” building, a net energy positive structure powered by solar. (Phoenix Business Journal, subscription)
SOLAR: A Wyoming-based company announces plans to build a 250 MW solar facility in the central part of the state. (Rawlins Times)
STORAGE: Preliminary work is set to begin on a 500 MW pumped hydroelectric storage facility near San Diego. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
OIL & GAS:
• Stanford researchers develop a method of converting methane into methanol, which they say could be used to significantly reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas operations. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Colorado county’s commissioners delay a vote on new oil and gas regulations after receiving an “overwhelming” amount of public comments. (Reporter-Herald)