OIL & GAS: A federal judge blocks two Trump-era drilling plans on over 400,000 acres in Wyoming and Montana because federal land managers failed to consider the projects’ effects on the greater sage grouse. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• Two days after New Mexico Democrats expressed support for the Biden administration’s leasing freeze, state Republican lawmakers ask for an exemption from the moratorium. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• New Mexico regulators approve a rule that would prohibit spills of oil and toxic liquids. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• The Interior Department proposes to reverse a Trump administration regulation that would cut lease payments for drilling on public lands. (The Hill)
COAL:
• With its carbon-capture plans for a New Mexico coal plant behind schedule, an energy company plans to continue running the plant without the technology for years beyond its scheduled closing date. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Environmental groups say that a Colorado coal power plant consistently violates federal sulfur dioxide emissions standards. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado regulators block a coal industry-backed group from intervening in Xcel Energy’s resource plan. (Energy & Policy Institute)
GRID:
• Hawaii regulators approve an emergency demand-response program to shore up grid reliability as a coal plant closes. (Utility Dive)
• Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signs a bill that will accelerate a $2 billion transmission project and require the state’s utilities to join a regional transmission organization by 2030. (Nevada Appeal)
TRANSITION:
• A western Colorado town looks to river-based recreation and tourism to help it transition its economy away from coal. (Aspen Journalism)
• The authors of a new report say that California could create over 1 million new jobs as it transitions to a clean-energy economy, offsetting losses in the fossil fuels sector. (Bay City News)
STORAGE: An energy storage developer has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to build a 600 megawatt battery installation on California’s Central Coast. (Pacific Coast Business Times)
LITHIUM: During a visit to Nevada, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the Biden administration wants to see lithium mined in a responsible way that respects the environment and Indigenous tribes. (Associated Press)
EFFICIENCY: Developers break ground on a net-zero high-rise apartment building in Seattle. (KNKX)
TRANSPORTATION:
• An electric fuel-cell powered ferry begins service on the San Francisco Bay this summer. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• A Salt Lake City streetcar is now powered entirely by renewable energy. (KSL)
NUCLEAR: Wyoming environmental groups have a mixed reaction to a proposal to build an advanced nuclear reactor in the state. (Cowboy State Daily)
SOLAR: A Hawaii entrepreneur plans to build a 600-acre photovoltaic installation in Oahu and sell individual units. (Star-Advertiser)
COMMENTARY:
• Two leaders of a Mormon environmental group urge Utah’s members of Congress to support federal methane emission regulations. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A California oil company CEO and an equity advocate argue that climate goals and a robust economy can co-exist. (Capitol Weekly)