COAL: Colorado’s largest utility accelerates plans to close a 441 MW coal-burning power station by 2028, but many critics say that’s not soon enough. (Denver Business Journal, Mountain Town News)
ALSO: Creditors agree to give Peabody Energy until 2024 to pay off debt as well as giving the company additional credit. (Wyoming Public Media)
OIL & GAS:
• A judge is expected to decide later today whether to halt this week’s planned lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge amid challenges from Indigenous and conservation groups. (Associated Press)
• The Interior Department finalizes plans to open more than 80% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to drilling. (The Hill)
• New Mexico regulators begin two weeks of remotely held virtual hearings on proposed rules to reduce methane waste in the state’s oil and gas industry. (Albuquerque Journal)
CLIMATE: Washington State is cited as an example of how policymakers are underplaying the challenges of climate adaptation. (Forbes)
OVERSIGHT: New Mexico lawmakers are set to make “surgical amendments” to the state’s clean energy law requiring major electric utilities to get 100% of their power from carbon emission-free sources by 2045. (Sante Fe New Mexican, subscription)
GRID:
• A focus on small-scale generation and storage is helping California quickly add needed capacity to the grid. (Los Angeles Times)
• More than 700 Navajo Nation homes are now connected to the grid thanks to federal funding. (KTVX)
NATURAL GAS: An Oregon utility makes its first investment in renewable natural gas, and expects $8.6 million in costs this year related to the project. (Portland Business Journal)
STORAGE:
• A California storage developer awards a contract for between 90 and 180 MW-hours of capacity across multiple locations in the state over the next 24 months. (reNEWS)
• A California-based battery maker partners with an environmental and recycling services provider on a program to select fleet electrification partners. (Green Car Congress)
TRANSMISSION: A California-based renewable energy company begins work on a major transmission line in New Mexico. (Associated Press)
TRANSPORTATION: Two freight railway companies began testing battery-electric locomotive technology in California. (Green Car Congress)