OIL & GAS: Federal land managers seek public comment on a Biden administration proposal to ban oil and gas drilling and mining on the 225,000-acre Thompson Divide in western Colorado. (Grand Junction Sentinel)
ALSO:
• Colorado lawmakers pass a watered-down bill aimed at reducing oil and gas facilities’ ozone-forming pollution. (Colorado Newsline)
• Progressive California lawmakers say oil and gas industry campaign contributions to their colleagues in both parties are thwarting efforts to clamp down on drilling. (Stateline)
• A peer-reviewed study finds oil- and gas-related air pollution contributes to thousands of excess deaths and illness across the U.S. and is responsible for $77 billion in annual health costs. (news release)
UTILITIES:
• Colorado energy analysts blame the state’s high utility bills this winter on California’s demand for natural gas to fill in for drought-diminished hydropower supplies. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado lawmakers advance a bill that would require utilities to control costs and bar them from charging customers to fund advertising and lobbying. (Colorado Politics)
CLEAN ENERGY: Tucson, Arizona, signs a letter of intent with a utility to power 100% of city operations with renewable energy. (Arizona Daily Star)
SOLAR:
• A U.S. Army base in Hawaii plans to install solar-plus-battery-storage “clusters” on 200 homes beginning in July. (Stars & Stripes)
• A developer plans to build solar-plus-storage facilities with 15 MW combined capacity to provide power to four California community choice aggregators. (PV Magazine)
• Public Service Company of New Mexico plans to add 12 MW of battery storage to two solar facilities to ease stress on overloaded distribution system feeders. (Utility Dive)
HYDROPOWER: A court orders the operator of a hydropower dam in Washington state to pay $1 million in fines and restoration costs for polluting a river with turf rubber in 2020. (KING 5)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A southern California city’s police department plans to convert its entire automobile fleet to electric vehicles by early next year. (Los Angeles Times)
GEOTHERMAL: Hawaii residents push back on a geothermal power plant’s proposed expansion, citing concerns about noxious odors and lava flows damaging the facility. (Hawaii News Now)
COAL: Powder River Basin coal producers urge regulators to reject a company’s bid to force BNSF railways to haul more of its export coal, saying it would jeopardize service for other firms. (Trains)
CLIMATE: A Colorado startup develops a low-temperature, low-carbon-emitting method for producing iron used in steel production. (Colorado Sun)
CRITICAL MINERALS: The Biden administration moves to expedite permitting for a proposed zinc and manganese mine in southern Arizona, saying the minerals are a key part of electric vehicle and grid-scale battery supply chains. (E&E News)
TRANSITION: A New Mexico county’s officials say rising tax revenues show the local economy remains strong following the September 2022 closure of a coal plant and mine. (Farmington Daily-Times)
COMMENTARY: An energy analyst says California is a prime candidate for heat pumps and other forms of electrification, but high power prices hamper widespread adoption. (Energy Institute at Haas)
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