CLIMATE: Oregon Democrats abruptly adjourned the state legislature for the year, 11 days after Republicans walked out over a contentious cap and trade bill. (Bloomberg Environment, subscription)
CALIFORNIA:
• PG&E wants a bankruptcy judge to give the utility permission to pay out $453 million in bonuses to thousands of executives and employees. (Sacramento Bee)
• A California county asks regulators to push PG&E to pay its share of power line undergrounding costs after the bankrupt utility neglected paying the state-mandated fees for more than a year. (Union of Grass Valley)
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HYDROPOWER: Critics say some of a proposed California hydro plant’s facilities would flood scenic canyons, interrupting free-flowing stretches of river and harming fish and wildlife. (Los Angeles Times)
NUCLEAR: A public meeting on decommissioning Diablo Canyon Power Plant is set to be held next week in San Luis Obispo, California. (KSBY)
OIL & GAS:
• Exxon Mobil is set to reduce the number of oil rigs it operates in the Permian Basin amidst plummeting oil prices and an expected decrease in energy demand. (Associated Press)
• Kinder Morgan says the future of its proposed Permian Pass natural gas pipeline is uncertain as no customers for the project have been lined up in the current low-price environment. (Reuters)
COAL:
• Peabody Energy has laid off 50 temporary workers at its North Antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming. (KPVI)
• Washington-based utility Avista says its customers would save at least $2 million annually if Montana’s Colstrip Units 3 and 4 were retired at the end of 2025. (Billings Gazette)
PUBLIC LANDS:
• New Mexico’s congressional delegation says the BLM’s approach to managing oil and gas development on Chaco lands is inadequate. (E&E News, subscription)
• More than half of BLM employees slated to relocate to its new Colorado headquarters quit the agency rather than make the move. (The Hill)
STORAGE:
• Using California as an example, the Rocky Mountain Institute sets out a plan showing how cities can enhance wildfire resilience with distributed energy. (CleanTechnica)
• California’s power outages continue to fuel demand for combined solar panels and battery storage solutions for businesses. (E&E News, subscription)
RENEWABLES: Two conservation planning reports address a potential population decline of Wyoming’s golden eagles due to conventional and renewable energy development and other human-caused threats. (Wyoming Public Media)
UTILITIES: A Colorado utility outlined four options on meeting its goal of providing 100% renewable energy by 2030 during a public meeting this week. (Longmont Times Call)
SOLAR: Construction of a utility-scale 7.5 megawatt ground-mounted solar system in Kalaeloa, Hawaii is complete. (Pacific Business News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• A public policy group makes recommendations it says would help diminish the pain of PG&E’s planned power outages. (Silicon Valley Business Journal)
• An environmental policy analyst says Alaska will be hit the hardest by President Trump’s proposed environmental law changes. (Anchorage Daily News)
• A California environmental justice advocate says natural gas endangers working families and the environment. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• A sustainability expert says going green is a necessity for California businesses to help combat climate change. (Sacramento Business Journal)