COAL: A coalition of state attorneys general, including California’s, New Mexico’s and Washington’s, call on the Biden administration to factor environmental justice and climate impacts into its review of the federal coal leasing program. (news release)
OIL & GAS:
• Government regulators have long failed to sufficiently monitor offshore pipelines like the one that spilled 144,000 gallons of oil off the California coast, according to a federal watchdog agency and environmental groups. (Los Angeles Times)
• A Permian Basin oil producer plans to install laser-based emissions monitors to track its equipment’s emissions in an effort to reduce air pollution. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Oil giant BP says it plans to invest $269 million in a Washington state refinery to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase biofuel production capacity. (news release)
TRANSITION:
• An Arizona utility’s proposal to distribute $144.5 million to Indigenous communities affected by coal plant closures could serve as a model for other fossil fuel-dependent regions. (E&E News)
• A new report finds renewable energy projects contribute $5.3 billion annual economic output to rural Utah. (Deseret News)
GRID:
• A Southern California lightning storm leaves more than 14,000 residents without power. (Los Angeles Times)
• The California Energy Commission determines the state can meet power needs without adding more gas generation, but extreme weather and dependence on battery storage could compromise reliability. (RTO Insider, subscription)
UTILITIES: Portland General Electric partners with Google’s smart thermostat division to allow customers to shift heating and cooling electricity usage to times when energy is cleaner or cheaper. (news release)
SOLAR: California officials agree not to begin enforcing a new rule allowing only licensed electrical contractors to install battery storage systems for at least a year. (Solar Power World)
CLIMATE:
• A wildfire in drought-plagued Montana grows to 7,000 acres within a day after starting, closing a highway and threatening 33 structures. (Montana Public Radio)
• A La Niña weather pattern forecast for this winter could worsen drought conditions in already parched southern Colorado, climatologists say. (Colorado Sun)
TRANSPORTATION: Rocky Mountain Power plans to invest $50 million to install 100 extreme fast electric vehicle chargers in 20 to 25 Utah locations. (Utah Public Radio)
NUCLEAR: A recently introduced U.S. Senate bill giving states more power over nuclear facility siting could stifle efforts to construct a spent fuel repository in New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
BIOFUELS: The former director of a Stockton, California, biodiesel company is sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $50,000 fine for tampering with the company’s monitoring equipment and unlawfully discharging wastewater. (Biofuels Digest)
COMMENTARY: A Colorado media lawyer says news outlets are “burying the lede” by not prominently featuring climate change stories daily. (Colorado Sun)