GRID: Overheating that led to an outage at a major California battery storage facility raises reliability and safety questions regarding the technology needed to shore up a renewable-heavy grid. (E&E News)

ALSO: The U.S. Department of Energy approves California’s request to run natural gas plants without pollution restrictions to prevent power outages. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• A Colorado electrical cooperative and one of Tri-State Generation’s most outspoken critics says it wants a “radical revisioning of the business model” rather than an end to its contract with the generation and transmission provider. (Denver Post)
• San Diego Gas & Electric agrees to refund $51.6 million to ratepayers and pay a $5.5 million fine over a botched energy-efficient lightbulb program. (Associated Press)
• A Sonoma County judge rejects Pacific Gas & Electric’s bid to have criminal charges tossed out relating to its equipment sparking the 2019 Kincaid Fire. (Press Democrat) 

COAL: Public Service Company of New Mexico seeks to issue $300 million in bonds as it divests from its stake in Four Corners Power Plant, but critics say shareholders, not ratepayers, should shoulder the cost. (Santa Fe New Mexican) 

CLIMATE:
• A new study finds climate change-exacerbated heat speeds up the production of hazardous ground-level ozone disproportionately affecting Hispanic communities. (Colorado Public Radio)  
• President Joe Biden will visit three Western states this week to tour wildfire damage and campaign for California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Colorado Climate Corps, modeled after the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps, will launch in January to prevent and blunt wildfires. (Denver Post) 

SOLAR: A Colorado company proposes a 25-acre solar facility near Roswell, New Mexico, in anticipation of the state’s rollout of a community solar program. (Roswell Daily Record)

HYDROGEN: The University of Wyoming and an oil and gas company propose using excess wind power to produce hydrogen and then ship it through existing natural gas lines. (Oil City News)

NUCLEAR:
• California regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s estimated $3.9 billion cost to decommission Diablo Canyon Power Plant. (KEYT)
• Texas lawmakers pass a bill banning the storage of high level nuclear waste, paving the path for New Mexico to do the same. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

OIL & GAS: The Biden administration opens public comment on a plan to lease 6,277 acres in Montana for oil and gas development. (Montana Free Press)

COMMENTARY:
• A New Mexico editorial board urges environmentalists, regulators, residents and industry find common ground on strong but reasonable state oil and gas emissions rules. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A national columnist says environmentalists’ blockage of a proposed solar facility in southern Nevada was a “massive case of misplaced priorities.” (Bloomberg)
• President Joe Biden has so far not done enough to move America toward a clean energy future, says a Colorado environmental advocate. (Denver Post)
• A former utility executive says California must expedite the development of long duration battery and other storage projects to meet its clean energy goals and ensure grid reliability. (San Diego Union-Tribune) 

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.