TRANSPORTATION: California regulators are set to vote today on banning the use of aging locomotives and requiring freight railways to adopt zero-emissions technology. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• Portland, Oregon, plans to ban gasoline-powered vehicles from parking in loading zones in a 16-block downtown area, creating the nation’s first zero-emissions delivery sector. (KOIN)
• California spends $46 million to help a Bay Area transit agency extend light rail service into an underserved, working-class area. (Mercury News)
OIL & GAS: After two years of debate, a Colorado county adopts a package of oil and gas regulations that are stricter than the state’s. (Durango Herald)
NATURAL GAS: A Colorado utility completes construction on six natural gas generating units on the site of a retired coal plant. (Gazette)
SOLAR:
• Rooftop solar advocates push back against a Colorado utility’s proposed rate restructuring, saying it will discourage residents from installing distributed generation. (Sopris Sun)
• Sunrun completes a solar installation at a California affordable housing development and offers paid training jobs to its residents. (Solar Builder)
• An Arizona nonprofit launches a cooperative to help Phoenix-area residents purchase rooftop solar installations at competitive group prices. (KTAR)
• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs into law a bill aimed at stabilizing community solar customers’ bill crediting rates. (news release)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Xcel Energy and the U.S. Energy Department sign a nonbinding commitment to provide federal facilities in Colorado with 100% carbon-free energy by 2030. (news release)
• A record level of wind and solar power were curtailed on California’s grid in March after renewable capacity climbed 6.5% over the previous 12 months. (S&P Global)
CLIMATE: New Mexico conservationists and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s cabinet blame each other for failing to push climate-related bills through this year’s legislative session. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
COAL: Federal regulators plan to hold hearings next month on the Navajo Transitional Energy Company’s bid to require BNSF Railway to haul more coal from the firm’s Powder River Basin mines. (Trains)
CRITICAL MINERALS:
• U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada proposes legislation that would allow mining companies to dump waste on federal lands, saying it would help secure sources of critical minerals such as lithium. (Las Vegas Sun)
• The San Carlos Apache Tribe takes its fight against a proposed copper mine in Arizona to the United Nations. (High Country News)
COMMENTARY:
• A California editorial board supports a new state law mandating income-based utility fees, but urges regulators to ease customers into the new structure. (Los Angeles Times)
• A columnist says a flurry of Western transmission line approvals is needed to enable a clean energy transition, but the permitting process should remain rigorous to ensure environmental impacts are minimized. (High Country News)
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