NUCLEAR: Keeping Diablo Canyon nuclear plant running for 20 years beyond its 2025 retirement date would reduce California’s carbon emissions and dependency on natural gas, save up to $21 billion and spare 90,000 acres of land from energy development, Stanford researchers say. (Reuters)

ALSO:
• The Biden administration urges the U.S. Supreme Court to decline to hear a case regarding spent reactor fuel storage at the decommissioned San Onofre nuclear plant near San Diego. (E&E News, subscription)
• The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill includes up to $1 billion to build an advanced nuclear reactor proposed for Washington state. (Seattle Times) 

GRID: This summer’s heat wave lent urgency to Northwest grid operators’ efforts to upgrade infrastructure to better cope with climate change, as well as growing renewable energy and temperature-induced demand. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Pacific Gas & Electric and other California utilities could benefit from the federal infrastructure bill’s $5 billion provision for preventing outages and enhancing grid resilience, a credit research firm says. (MarketWatch)

OIL & GAS:
• Southern California regulators enact restrictions on smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions from oil refineries. (Associated Press)
• Cleanup crews have cleared about one-third of the shoreline but fisheries remain closed five weeks after an offshore oil pipeline spill in Southern California. (Associated Press)
• Environmental advocates urge the Biden administration to establish a marine national monument in Alaska’s Prince William Sound — site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill — to put it off limits to offshore drilling. (E&E News, subscription)

COPPER: Copper production is ramping up in Arizona and New Mexico to meet growing demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy, spurring environmental concerns. (Guardian)

TRANSPORTATION: The Port of Long Beach, California, implements a fee on diesel and other polluting trucks — but exempts natural gas-fueled vehicles — as part of its effort to reach zero emissions by 2035. (Long Beach Business Journal)

COAL: Canada’s decision to phase out coal exports could cut off Montana mines from Asian markets, significantly reducing demand. (S&P Global)

CLIMATE:
• San Jose, California, becomes the nation’s largest city to adopt a goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. (Mercury News)
• San Diego officials release 86 proposals and strategies to prepare the city for the effects of climate change, from wildfires to droughts to extreme heat waves. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hawaii Gov. David Ige tells COP26 climate summit attendees his state is committed to reaching net-negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 or sooner because “zero is not good enough.” (The Hill)

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.