OIL & GAS: A Colorado natural gas operator agrees to pay a $3.25 million fine and upgrade emissions control equipment on its facilities to settle alleged Clean Air Act violations. (Denver Post)
ALSO:
• Portland, Oregon, considers banning the sale of petroleum-based diesel fuel within the city limits. (Land Line)
• Alaska’s U.S. senators call on the Biden administration to promptly approve ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil drilling project so work can begin this winter. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Oil and gas industry officials urge the Biden administration to stop a potential air quality regulatory change for the Permian Basin, claiming it would increase gasoline prices. (E&E News, subscription)
WIND: A renewable energy developer expects to employ 2,000 people to construct its 3,000 MW wind power facility and associated transmission project planned for New Mexico. (Albuquerque Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• A renewable energy industry survey finds the number of solar jobs in California, Nevada and Arizona increased by about 9,000 between 2020 and 2021. (news release)
• Hawaiian Electric selects a developer for its proposed 17.5 MW community solar-plus-storage project. (Hawaii News Now)
COAL:
• The Biden administration moves to avert a railroad workers strike that Wyoming officials say would devastate the state’s coal industry. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A coal-seam fire burning in an abandoned mine in western Colorado sparks a small wildfire. (The Daily Sentinel)
TRANSPORTATION: A California city uses $7.4 million in state funds to launch an electric vehicle and e-bike sharing program aimed at low-income residents.
(CapRadio)
GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction geothermal rights on more than 230,000 acres in Nevada in August, which will be one of the largest sales ever of its kind. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
GRID: High winds topple trees into utility lines in Interior Alaska, leaving more than 23,000 people without power. (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
CLIMATE:
• Temperatures are expected to hit triple digits in the Pacific Northwest this week, straining the power grid and raising heat-related illness concerns. (Guardian)
• The prolonged drought diminishing Colorado River flows may be one of the few climate disasters the federal government is legally obligated to address. (Grid)
• A Los Angeles utility partners with university researchers as it aims to equitably produce all of its power from carbon-free and renewable sources by 2035. (news release)
COMMENTARY: An Alaska conservationist urges the Biden administration to reject the proposed Willow oil drilling project in the Arctic, saying it “represents an existential climate threat.” (The Hill)
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