UTILITIES: Hawaiian Electric faces scrutiny and lawsuits for not de-energizing power lines as high winds and dry conditions gripped Hawaii in the leadup to the deadly Maui wildfires. (Washington Post, Honolulu Standard-Advertiser)
CLIMATE:
• Hawaii officials confirm climate change-exacerbated wildfires have killed 96 people so far, making them the nation’s deadliest in more than a century. (Associated Press)
• Extreme heat may have killed as many as 300 people in Phoenix in July, which marked the city’s hottest month on record. (Guardian)
• An Oregon university partners with the Coquille Tribe to research biological carbon sequestration as a climate change-fighting tool. (KLCC)
GRID:
• Studies predict data centers in the Northwest will consume far more electricity than previously anticipated, straining the power grid and imperiling Oregon’s clean energy goals. (Oregonian, subscription)
• California’s grid operator predicts heat-driven power demand will strain the grid this week, possibly prompting calls for conservation. (Reuters)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards Alaska $22.1 million to improve power grid reliability and resilience. (News-Miner, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: Alaska advocates say the one-year-old Inflation Reduction Act is jumpstarting long-stagnant clean energy development in the state. (Anchorage Daily News)
WIND: Washington state regulators are set to hold a public hearing on a proposed 244-turbine wind power project in the southern part of the state. (Tri-City Herald)
OIL & GAS:
• An energy company proposes restarting a long-idled natural gas power plant in northern Colorado to meet growing demand. (Greeley Tribune)
• The Biden administration’s ban on new oil and gas leasing around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico sparks debate among tribal nations, advocates and mineral rights holders. (Bloomberg Law)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado’s energy office allocates $17 million to install 188 electric vehicle charging stations around the state. (Pagosa Sun)
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Energy Department awards California oil companies $20.6 million to study and design methods of capturing carbon and injecting it into depleted oil wells. (Bakersfield Californian)
HYDROPOWER:
• A Washington state wildfire continues to threaten Seattle City Light’s hydropower facilities. (KIRO 7)
• California advocates step up opposition to a proposed pumped hydropower storage project along the state’s northern coast. (Press-Democrat)
PUBLIC LANDS:
• A federal judge rejects a bid to overturn the 2021 restoration of two national monuments in southern Utah, saying the Antiquities Act authorized President Biden to protect federal lands from uranium mining and oil and gas drilling. (Associated Press)
• Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits criticize President Biden for designating a national monument and blocking new uranium mines near the Grand Canyon, calling it a “grand gift to Putin.” (Newsweek)
COMMENTARY: A Washington state editorial board say the fight against climate change may doom — or save — four controversial Northwest hydropower dams. (The Herald)
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