SOLAR: The Trump administration is set to approve what would be the nation’s largest solar project, a 690 MW facility on federal land near Las Vegas; the final protest period for the project is open until January 27. (Utility Dive, Associated Press)
ALSO: Netflix’s new headquarters is in Los Angeles’ first commercial building to implement solar-generated technology into a building’s façade. (Buildings)
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PUBLIC LANDS:
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans for 2020 include major renewable energy projects in California, New Mexico, and Nevada. (E&E News)
• William Perry Pendley’s tenure as acting director of the BLM is extended despite the lack of a presidential nomination to the position. (Washington Post)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Utah implements a program that lets electric and hybrid vehicle drivers pay for the miles they drive instead of a flat annual charge. (Deseret News)
• Questions are being raised about Tesla’s autopilot driving system in the wake of three crashes involving Teslas that killed three people. (Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
• The 2010s brought unprecedented death and destruction blamed on PG&E equipment failures, with at least 117 people dying in disasters. (KXTV)
• The Nevada County Airport prepares for PG&E power outages with the purchase of an emergency generator. (The Union of Grass Valley)
COAL:
• Montana’s Colstrip Units 1 and 2, one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the western U.S., will close by Jan. 5 or as soon as they run out of coal to burn. (Associated Press)
• New Mexico’s ambitious law to shut down coal plants has consequences for workers that are likely not addressed. (E&E News, subscription)
BIOFUELS: A company begins operating a 2.8 -megawatt biogas project at a wastewater treatment facility in California. (Daily Energy Insider)
CLEAN ENERGY: Gustine, California’s city council is reconsidering a nearly $3.2 million energy program approved in November due to cost and budgeting concerns. (West Side Index and Gustine Press-Standard)
PIPELINES: Several legal battles over pipelines are likely to play out in court this year, including the Keystone XL project. (InsideClimate News)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado oil and gas companies face financial challenges in 2020 with the success of big U.S. shale field gambles potentially on the wane. (Denver Business Journal, subscription)
• New Mexico is looking to other regions of the U.S. for solutions to its fracking waste water problem. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• The Permian Basin oil boom brings new challenges to Carlsbad, New Mexico, from a surge of workers lured to the area. (Las Cruces Sun-News)
BIOMASS: Construction on a $15 million biomass plant in North Fork, California is set to begin in April. (Sierra News)
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EFFICIENCY: Hawaii Energy selects seven participants for a program aimed at helping nonprofits implement energy efficiency projects. (Pacific Business News)
COMMENTARY:
• A California publisher says PG&E’s public safety power shutoffs make rural life in the state even more challenging. (Comstock’s Magazine)
• A former Nevada City, California mayor says having a reliable power grid is essential to the safety and continued viability of the town. (The Union of Grass Valley)
• The president of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System says it is a reliable asset always operating for the state. (Anchorage Daily News)