SOLAR: California environmental groups sue to overturn the state’s new net metering policy, saying regulators illegally ignored the benefits of rooftop solar when it slashed compensation rates for power sent back to the grid. (Los Angeles Times)
ALSO:
• Utah municipal utilities agree to purchase power from a 72 MW solar installation on the Navajo Nation that went online last month. (Cache Valley Daily)
• A solar project proposed for private land in rural northwest Colorado sparks residents’ concerns about impacts to views, property values and wildlife. (Herald-Times)
• Grid Alternative’s tribal solar accelerator fund seeks proposals for its residential and facility project grant program. (PV Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A peer-reviewed study finds California’s electric vehicle rebate program is resulting in cleaner air, but pollution levels are decreasing more in wealthier communities than in less affluent ones. (Bloomberg)
• Colorado prepares to launch a $12-million electric bicycle rebate program for low- and moderate-income residents. (CPR)
• Construction is completed on a 26-unit electric truck charging station at the Port of Long Beach in California. (news release)
OIL & GAS:
• Utah leaders continue to craft policies aimed at encouraging oil shale development even though it would require pulling vast amounts of water out of the drought-diminished Colorado River system. (Mother Jones)
• New Mexico’s congressional delegation and many tribal leaders renew efforts to permanently ban oil and gas development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. (Associated Press)
• The U.S. Senate votes to revoke federal endangered species protections for the lesser prairie chicken, potentially affecting oil and gas development in the Permian Basin if it survives a presidential veto. (Associated Press)
• Four employees of a Los Angeles-area petroleum refinery are hospitalized following a butane and hydrogen sulfide leak. (Los Angeles Times)
OVERSIGHT: U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, introduces legislation that would streamline pipeline, transmission and oil and gas permitting, lift a moratorium on coal leasing and designate uranium as a critical mineral. (Casper Star-Tribune)
LITHIUM: The developer of the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada says it has successfully propagated a rare wildflower that lives in its project site from seed. (news release)
URANIUM: Utah environmentalists urge federal land managers to revoke a company’s permit to do exploratory drilling for uranium just outside Bears Ears National Monument. (E&E News, subscription)
MICROGRIDS: A San Francisco-area community energy agency plans to construct 30 solar-plus-battery-powered microgrids to provide backup at critical facilities during outages. (news release)
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