ELECTRIFICATION: PG&E supports an emerging plan to require “efficient, all-electric new construction” in California. (Greentech Media)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• An Arizona utility proposes to get 70% of its electricity from wind and solar by 2035, with plans for 2.5 GW of new capacity. (PV Tech)
• A New Mexico official touts the potential for wind and solar development in the state’s oil and gas region. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
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PUBLIC LANDS:
• Advocates criticize President Trump’s decision to formally nominate William Pendley, who in the past has said federal land should be sold to the states, to head the Bureau of Land Management. (E&E News)
• In its environmental impact statement on opening up the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to oil and gas development, the BLM says noise from industrial activity “may trigger massive stampedes” and deaths of walruses. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
COAL:
• In a “historic decision,” Colorado Springs utility regulators vote to retire the city’s coal plants by 2023 and 2030. (Colorado Sun)
• A former Colorado regulator says NorthWestern Energy ignored early warnings that could have prevented a 2018 coal plant shutdown it now wants to bill customers for. (Billings Gazette)
• A New Mexico college signs a memorandum of understanding to provide worker training for a proposed carbon capture project. (Farmington Daily Times)
PIPELINES: The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of northeast Montana file a federal lawsuit opposing the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. (Montana Free Press)
OIL & GAS:
• Carlsbad, New Mexico residents are taking steps to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for Permian Basin air pollution. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Oil production in a Colorado county fell 57% March to April between the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting global oil crisis. (BizWest Media)
SOLAR: A Montana electric cooperative and solar panel developer are collaborating on two 550-acre solar arrays in a southeast Montana county. (Montana Public Radio)
GRID: California regulators are now requiring marketers and suppliers who promise to import energy into California during times of high electricity demand to identify the generation resources that will be available. (S&P Global)
NUCLEAR: A group of out-of-state organizations want a review of federal regulators’ denial of multiple contentions against a proposed temporary nuclear waste storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
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CLIMATE: A new Yale University report finds a majority of Wyoming voters strongly support clean energy, but differ along political affiliation on the need to address climate change. (Buckrail)
COMMENTARY:
• A California journalist says the role state regulators played in PG&E’s problems should be examined. (Cal Matters)
• An attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center explains why renewable energy must replace fossil fuels. (Helena Independent Record)
• Two California sustainability advocates say a state stimulus plan to retrofit homes and replace gas appliances for low-income Californians and small businesses will help clean the air and fight climate change. (CalMatters)