STORAGE:
• Pacific Gas & Electric proposes installing nine new battery projects with a combined 1,600 MW capacity to help replace Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s generation when it closes in 2025. (Bloomberg)
• Sacramento’s municipal utility installs a 4 MW lithium-ion battery unit as part of an energy storage pilot project. (news release)
BATTERY METALS:
• Idaho officials say rising demand for electric vehicle batteries could spark a cobalt mining boom in the state, raising concerns about potential environmental impacts. (Spokesman-Review)
• A Nevada battle pitting advocates of an endangered wildflower against a proposed lithium mine highlights the environmental tradeoffs inherent to the energy transition. (Fast Company)
TRANSPORTATION: Hawaii officials expect the state to receive $18 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure from the federal infrastructure package. (Maui Now)
UTILITIES:
• San Diego Gas & Electric finishes replacing thousands of wooden utility poles with steel to make lines more resistant to wildfires. (Times of San Diego)
• Pacific Gas & Electric equipment has sparked 30 major wildfires in northern California that killed 100 people and destroyed 23,000 homes since it entered probation — which ends today — for a 2010 natural gas line explosion. (Associated Press)
SOLAR: Financial analysts say a California proposal to slash solar incentives would render residential solar without battery backup a near-worthless investment. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado environmental advocates plan to sue the U.S. EPA for missing a deadline to place oil and gas-producing counties in the “severe” category for ozone pollution. (Colorado Sun)
• Wyoming researchers find coalbed methane natural gas drilling has caused groundwater levels to drop 100 feet or more near intensive development. (news release)
• A California trucking company agrees to pay $200,000 in civil penalties and to remediate resource damages from a 2020 oil tanker crash and spill in the Cuyama River. (news release)
• U.S. Navy officials say they will only release a summary of their findings relating to water contamination blamed on leaks from a Hawaii fuel storage facility rather than the entire report as promised. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription)
NUCLEAR:
• A tiny Wyoming town shifts from planning for a coal industry bust to preparing to accommodate 2,000 new workers needed to build Bill Gates-backed TerraPower’s planned nuclear reactor. (WyoFile)
• A California law firm sues to force federal regulators to release documents regarding a 2018 “serious near miss” incident involving a canister of radioactive spent reactor fuel. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Republican Colorado lawmakers push a bill allocating $500,000 to study small modular nuclear reactors as a means to fight climate change. (Colorado Newsline)
COMMENTARY: A New Mexico editorial board says state lawmakers should table bills encouraging hydrogen development to give them time to debate the fuel’s merits. (Albuquerque Journal)