OIL & GAS: A federal court orders the federal government to complete a full environmental impact statement before permitting hydraulic fracturing off the California coast, saying existing analyses are inadequate. (Los Angeles Times)
ALSO:
• The Wyoming oil and gas industry protests an upcoming federal lease sale because too little land is being offered, and environmental groups protest for the opposite reason. (Pinedale Roundup)
• Only one company bids for state-owned parcels in the Cook Inlet at an Alaska oil and gas lease auction, while a sale elsewhere in the state receives no bids. (Alaska Public Media)
SOLAR:
• The Biden administration is expected to declare a 24-month tariff exemption for solar panels from four Asian nations to spur the industry to restart development it put on hold due to a federal solar import probe. (Reuters)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management gives low-priority permitting status to three proposed solar developments near Death Valley National Park after environmentalists raised concerns. (E&E News, subscription)
• Federal regulators order Tri-State Generation & Transmission to amend a community solar rate policy that imposed an extra charge on members who didn’t adopt specific community solar projects. (BizWest Media)
• A New Mexico electricity cooperative brings a new solar array online, allowing it to meet 100% of its daytime load with solar power. (news release)
GRID: Arizona’s head utility regulator says the state’s power grids are prepared for heat-related demands. (KTAR)
TRANSPORTATION: Arizona transportation officials plan to use federal funds to install new electric vehicle charging infrastructure along interstate highways. (12 News)
UTILITIES:
• A southern California community choice aggregator program is thrown into turmoil by a whistleblower complaint and doubts about its commitment to renewable energy. (Los Angeles Times)
• Hawaiian Electric expands a pilot program that pays rooftop solar customers to add battery storage. (Hawaii Public Radio)
HYDROGEN: A southern Wyoming county rejects a proposal to construct a wind-powered green hydrogen production plant. (Rawlins Times)
COAL:
• Montana coal production increased 11% in March from the year before as rising natural gas prices make the fuel more competitive. (Billings Gazette)
• A Wyoming company seeks federal approval to revive an abandoned northern California rail line to carry Powder River Basin coal for export. (Press Democrat)
CRYPTOCURRENCY: A bitcoin mining company plans to build a 50 MW data center in Montana powered by Salish-Kootenai Dam hydroelectricity. (Missoulian)
COMMENTARY: A California professor says the state must site utility-scale solar projects on degraded lands and fund rooftop solar equitably to meet climate and conservation goals. (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
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