OIL & GAS: A Colorado judge blocks regulators from forcing an oil and gas operator to remediate 78 sites and pay a $2 million fine until a court hears a legal challenge to the order. (Colorado Sun)
ALSO: A federal court rules that ConocoPhillips can keep oil well data from its Willow project in Alaska secret, saying it is subject to federal, not state, disclosure laws. (Anchorage Daily News)
POLLUTION: Attorneys general from Alaska, Oregon and Washington join a lawsuit aimed at forcing the U.S. EPA to tighten its residential wood-burning stove emissions standards. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• A developer plans to construct a 240 kW solar installation on a working cattle ranch in Oregon where cows will be able to graze under the panels. (PV Magazine)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an information session on the proposed 300 MW Chuparosa Solar installation in the northern part of the state. (news release)
• An advocacy group’s interconnection scorecard gives New Mexico high marks for distributed generation hookup policies. (RTO Insider, subscription)
UTILITIES:
• Advocates call on a regulator to recuse himself from Public Service Company of New Mexico’s ongoing rate case, citing his previous testimony on behalf of the utility. (NM Political Report)
• Alaska consumer advocates push back on a utility’s proposed rate hike, saying it could break low-income residents’ budgets. (KTUU)
GRID: High temperatures in northern California cause Pacific Gas & Electric transformers to overheat, leaving thousands of customers without power for multiple days. (Union Democrat)
STORAGE: An Alaska utility installs a 40 MW battery system to help meet power demand during an impending natural gas shortfall. (Anchorage Daily News, subscription)
BUILDINGS: An Arizona city adopts codes requiring electric vehicle chargers and efficiency measures in new multifamily and commercial developments. (KJZZ)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Grand Canyon National Park replaces its diesel shuttle fleet with electric and compressed natural gas buses. (KNAU)
• Idaho officials seek applications for electric vehicle charging station pilot locations in three cities. (Idaho Capital Sun)
TRANSPORTATION: California’s transportation commission awards $132 million to communities and agencies to upgrade roads, purchase electric buses and install electric vehicle charging stations. (KCLU)
TRANSITION: The U.S. EPA awards an Oregon researcher $650,000 to explore the clean energy transition’s impacts on land, wildlife and people. (news release)
CARBON CAPTURE:
• A Wyoming university and a private company launch a study of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline network that would connect emitters with storage sites. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Oregon researchers develop a method of scrubbing carbon dioxide from industrial emissions with an inexpensive nanomaterial. (news release)
HYDROPOWER: PacifiCorp launches a feasibility study of pumped hydropower storage facilities proposed for southern Idaho and northern Utah. (Herald Journal)
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