SOLAR: A new study finds California’s grid constraints could leave disadvantaged populations with “disproportionately less grid capacity to host renewable solar energy,” piling more difficulties on top of high costs that already limit solar adoption. (The Hill) 

UTILITIES:
• A judge questions the Pacific Gas & Electric employee who first came upon the Dixie Fire in an effort to determine the utility’s role in sparking the blaze. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• PG&E’s “fast trip” wildfire risk reduction system cuts power to thousands in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
• Colorado’s consumer advocate urges regulators to slash Xcel Energy’s proposed rate increase intended to recover costs from February’s natural gas price spike. (Colorado Sun)

GEOTHERMAL: An Idaho ski town weighs whether to tap a hot spring for geothermal energy or develop it as a public swimming pool. (Idaho Mountain Express)

GRID:
• Western Energy Imbalance Market governors approve the admission of sub-entities, allowing utilities within market balancing authorities to schedule resources independently. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A northern California city council approves the emergency installation of two 30 MW natural gas generators to ease grid stress during peak demand. (Sacramento Business Journal)

CLIMATE:
• President Joe Biden will visit the Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado today after touring California wildfire damage, calling the fires a“code red for our nation.” (Associated Press, New York Times)
• A pair of recently-ignited wildfires in California’s Sequoia National Park threaten some of the largest trees in the world. (Los Angeles Times)
• The University of Arizona’s new Indigenous Resilience Center will work with tribes to address the effects of climate change. (KOLD)

WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management extends the public comment period for a 1 GW wind farm proposed for Idaho’s Magic Valley. (Renewables Now)

TRANSITION: U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, a New Mexico Democrat, introduces a bill that would provide $5 billion to fossil fuel communities to aid their transitions away from fossil fuels. (NM Political Report)

COAL: A Washington state company plans to recycle coal combustion waste from power plants into mineral fiber that can be used in cardboard, brake pads or carbon fiber precursors. (Washington Business Journal, subscription) 

OIL & GAS:
• A New Mexico college proposes using state funds meant to transition economies away from coal to rebuild and expand the local natural gas industry. (Capital & Main)
• California’s oil-heavy Kern County sues Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop what it calls a de-facto ban on hydraulic fracturing. (Bakersfield Californian)
• New Mexico regulators fine a Colorado-based natural gas company $950,000 for illegally emitting nearly 3.8 million pounds of pollutants from Permian Basin facilities. (news release)
• The federal bipartisan infrastructure bill in Congress could help cover the $50 -80 million price tag of cleaning up Colorado’s 250 orphaned oil and gas wells. (Colorado Public Radio)  

 

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Jonathan P. Thompson

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.