SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the 700 MW Copper Rays Solar Project proposed for southern Nevada. (news release; E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico environmentalists laud the U.S. EPA’s plans to tighten methane emissions rules for oil and gas facilities and urge the Biden administration to ban routine venting and flaring. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• Chevron plans to plug and clean up about 2,200 oil and gas wells in Colorado over the next several years. (Reuters)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposed oil and gas leasing ban around Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico. (Farmington Daily Times)
• New Mexico regulators fine a company $66,800 after a fire at its Permian Basin natural gas processing plant injures two workers. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
ENFORCEMENT: New Mexico establishes a task force to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes such as fabricating oil and gas records or polluting waterways. (NM Political Report)
NUCLEAR: Wyoming communities vie to host advanced nuclear reactors Rocky Mountain Power is considering building to replace retiring coal plants. (Casper Star-Tribune)
HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department is negotiating funding for a hydrogen-production demonstration project at the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona. (Renewable Energy World)
GRID: Western power market reliability officials call on grid operators to increase planning reserve margins to ensure reliability as more renewable energy is deployed. (Reuters)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Utah wildlife officials tighten electric bicycle rules after a surge in off-road e-biking damages animal habitats. (Spectrum)
• An east Idaho electric cooperative begins constructing an electric vehicle charging network to accommodate tourists. (East Idaho News)
TRANSPORTATION: The nation’s largest rural regional transportation agency, located in western Colorado, is halfway through developing a climate action plan. (Post-Independent)
CRITICAL MINERALS:
• The Nez Perce Tribe and environmental groups urge federal land managers to reject a proposed antimony mine in Idaho, saying it will contaminate streams and harm fish. (Missoulian)
• A Utah firm develops a method using hallyosite mined and processed in-state to replace imported graphite in lithium-ion batteries. (Daily Herald)
• Utah receives federal funds to investigate the feasibility of extracting the nation’s only known deposit of indium, a metal used in solar panels. (KUER)
MIDTERMS: Nevada voters re-elect clean energy booster U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto over a challenger with oil and gas industry ties. (KUNR)
COMMENTARY: A Montana conservationist urges local officials to block a natural gas power plant NorthWestern Energy is building next to the Yellowstone River. (Daily Montanan)
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