OIL & GAS: A federal appeals court rules rejects conservationists’ emergency motion to block ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska. (Anchorage Daily News)
ALSO:
• New Mexico officials say companies have plugged more than 200 orphaned or abandoned oil and gas wells on state land since a new accountability and enforcement program launched in 2020. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would hold companies presumptively liable for harming people who live within 3,200 feet of their oil and gas facilities. (news release)
UTILITIES:
• Colorado lawmakers introduce legislation that would require utilities to protect consumers from price shocks, eliminate ratepayer-funded subsidies for new natural gas lines and bar utilities from passing lobbying, legal and other fees to customers. (CPR)
• Montana lawmakers rush to nullify a court-ordered work halt on a natural gas plant as more than 100 workers building the facility are laid off. (KTVQ)
• U.S. Rep. Josh Harder of California introduces legislation aimed at preventing Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities from taking advantage of disasters to increase prices. (news release)
• Montana utilities plan a coordinated response to future cyberattacks on the power grid. (KPAX)
• Pacific Gas & Electric plans to bury 77 miles of power lines in high wildfire risk parts of a northern California county this year. (Record-Searchlight)
SOLAR:
• Hardware retailer Lowe’s plans to install rooftop solar on 52 big box stores and two distribution centers in California. (PV Magazine)
• An agricultural company plans to build solar installations totaling 1,000 MW generating capacity on its eastern Colorado farmland. (Power Technology)
• A California startup receives $3 million in state funds to accelerate its development of photovoltaic film that turns windows into electricity-generating solar panels. (PV Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A firm plans to build six 40-unit direct-current fast electric vehicle charging stations in southern California beginning this year. (news release)
BIOFUELS: A bioenergy company breaks ground on a 3 MW power plant in northern California that will be fueled by wood waste from wildfire-hazard reduction projects. (Record-Searchlight)
EFFICIENCY: A Montana city and county establish a joint energy efficiency rebate program to lessen the cost of electrifying government operations. (Missoulian)
CLIMATE:
• California lawmakers advance bills that would require corporations to disclose carbon emissions and bar state pension funds from investing in fossil fuel firms. (Sacramento Bee)
• The University of Arizona begins developing a climate action plan aimed at going carbon-neutral by 2040. (news release)
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