TRANSPORTATION: New Mexico lawmakers reject, on a tie-vote, a clean fuel standards bill aimed at cutting the carbon intensity of transportation fuels 30% by 2040. (NM Political Report)
ALSO:
• Environmentalists criticize Colorado regulators for delaying until next year completion of rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from heavy trucks. (Colorado Sun)
• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would allocate $260 million to help Caltrain electrify its commuter trains. (East Bay Times)
• Utah lawmakers advance a bill that would levy a road fee on electric vehicle owners. (St. George News)
• A Colorado ski area installs 10 electric vehicle charging stations at its parking lot. (Summit Daily)
UTILITIES:
• Regulators approve Public Service Company of New Mexico’s plan to replace nuclear power with new solar generation when its contracts with an Arizona nuclear plant expire in 2023 and 2024. (Associated Press)
• A southwestern Colorado electric co-op agrees to enter a new contract with Tri-State Generation & Transmission allowing the utility to acquire 50% of its power from non-Tri-State sources, as opposed to the previous 5%. (Big Pivots)
• A wave of member exits from Tri-State over the power wholesaler’s slow transition away from coal could shape other rural co-ops’ navigation of the energy transition. (S&P Global)
GRID: Black Hills Energy proposes building a 260-mile transmission line in Wyoming aimed at enhancing grid resilience and attracting high-load customers such as blockchain miners and data centers. (news release)
STORAGE:
• An energy storage developer brings two grid-scale battery installations, totaling 60 MWh, online in southern California. (Energy Storage News)
• Northern California’s Moss Landing battery storage facility delays restarting its previously damaged Phase I after a second incident takes Phase II offline. (Energy Storage News)
OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico lawmakers reject proposed funding increases for oil and gas regulators that would be used to hire more inspectors to handle a growing workload. (Capital & Main)
• Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen John Barrasso blasts the Biden administration for missing the deadline to hold a first-quarter oil and gas lease sale in the state. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Colorado regulators postpone a decision on a proposal to drill 30 oil and gas wells in a suburban neighborhood to give developers more time to plan more safeguards and consider alternative locations. (Denver Post)
• The Permian Basin’s resurgent drilling boom is driving oil and gas rig worker and hydraulic fracturing sand shortages. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
PUBLIC LANDS: The leaders of Nevada’s largest county vote to urge the Biden administration to designate a national monument on 450,000 acres of public land that has been targeted for wind and solar development. (Las Vegas Sun)
LITHIUM: An Australian mining company begins exploration work at a southern Oregon lithium deposit that could be the largest in the nation. (OPB)
COAL: Colorado’s 2021 coal production rose 14% over the previous year as utilities choose it over pricier natural gas. (Denver Business Journal, subscription)
BIOFUEL: A U.S. Forest Service timber thinning project in Colorado supplies firewood to heat Navajo Nation homes. (Durango Herald)
NUCLEAR: A California county’s leaders vote to urge California Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop the impending closure of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, even though the plant’s operator says it doesn’t intend to change course. (KCBX)