NUCLEAR: Federal regulators reject Pacific Gas & Electric’s request to extend the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s operating license, meaning the utility must start the relicensing application process from scratch. (Power)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• New Mexico lawmakers propose a bill that would authorize city, county or Indigenous governments to purchase or generate renewable energy to sell to constituents. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Hawaiian Electric seeks proposals for renewable energy projects, including firm generation, on Oahu and Maui. (Pacific Inno)
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OIL & GAS:
• Los Angeles County, California, expands a city-wide oil and gas drilling ban implemented last month and begins developing a strategy to phase out existing production throughout the county. (Bloomberg)
• California’s U.S. senators introduce a bill that would permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters along the West Coast. (news release)
• A New Mexico Republican lawmaker’s bill that would classify natural gas generation as renewable energy dies in committee. (NM Political Report)
• An environmental group sues the U.S. EPA to force the agency to crack down on oil and gas-related ozone pollution in Colorado. (news release)
SOLAR: An Arizona man pleads guilty to fraudulently bilking the federal government out of more than $50 million in solar tax refunds. (news release)
GEOTHERMAL: The developer of a proposal to tap a volcano for geothermal power in Alaska plans to break ground this summer if it can secure funding. (KUCB)
HYDROGEN:
• A Texas company plans to establish a solar-powered, 20,000-ton-per-year green hydrogen production facility in Lancaster, California. (Spectrum News 1)
• A California company prepares to test fly its prototype hydrogen-fueled turboprop plane in Washington state. (GeekWire)
COAL:
• Utah lawmakers propose appropriating $2 million to fund a lawsuit attempting to block the U.S. EPA from requiring coal power plants to install emission-reduction equipment or face early retirement. (Salt Lake Tribune, subscription)
• Montana lawmakers propose a bill that would fund local infrastructure projects with loans backed by coal severance tax revenues. (Montana Public Radio)
• Union Pacific railroad boosts hiring to support growing coal demand amid rising natural gas prices. (S&P Global)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A California startup seeks funding to mass produce its solar-equipped electric vehicle with a 400-mile range. (Business Insider)
• A Montana lawmaker introduces a bill that would allow e-bikes to travel anywhere regular bicycles are permitted but let local jurisdictions restrict them from multi-use paths. (Missoulian)
BATTERIES: A lithium-ion battery cell development company plans to establish a manufacturing facility in California’s Imperial Valley capable of producing 650,000 EV batteries annually. (news release)
UTILITIES: San Diego Gas & Electric begins the second phase of its utility line undergrounding project in southern California. (Del Mar Times)
CARBON CAPTURE: Washington state researchers develop a more affordable way to capture carbon and convert it into methanol, a fuel, solvent and feedstock for plastics. (news release)
COMMENTARY: A California writer and activist says power outages like those that rippled across the state this winter are a matter of life and death for people who rely on electric medical devices. (High Country News)
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