CLIMATE: A Montana court rules in favor of young advocates in a landmark climate lawsuit, finding the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies violated their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES:
• Hawaiian Electric stocks plunge on concerns that its utility lines may have sparked the deadly Maui wildfires. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
• Southern California Gas Co. agrees to pay $175,000 for violating consumer protection laws by falsely claiming fossil fuel-derived natural gas was “renewable.” (Orange County Register)
• San Jose, California, considers creating a municipal power company to expedite grid interconnection and facilitate economic development. (KTVU)
GRID:
• Oregon utility officials ask residents to conserve power during this week’s record-breaking heat wave. (KGW8)
• Researchers say additional clean energy generation capacity, battery storage and demand response programs have helped utilities avoid heat-driven power outages this summer. (USA Today)
CLEAN ENERGY: A study finds Inflation Reduction Act incentives have lured about $16 billion in clean energy-related investments to Western states in the year since the legislation was signed into law. (NM Political Report)
WIND: Struggling northern California communities welcome prospective offshore wind development’s economic benefits, but worry about environmental and social impacts. (Politico)
OIL & GAS:
• Environmental groups petition a federal appeals court to overturn the Biden administration’s approval of exports from a proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline and terminal project in Alaska. (Alaska Beacon)
• A company proposes constructing a natural gas and a produced water pipeline across federal land in western Colorado. (Post Independent)
• Environmental groups call on the Biden administration to model federal pollution regulations on New Mexico’s emissions-limiting rules on oil and gas development. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A study finds Washington, California and Arizona have the nation’s highest ratio of electric vehicle charging stations to traditional gas stations. (Auto Remarketing)
ELECTRIFICATION: Honolulu’s city council adopts codes requiring some new construction to be solar-ready and equipped with electric vehicle chargers. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
HYDROPOWER: A wildfire in Washington state forces a utility to take hydropower dams that serve Seattle offline. (KUOW)
COAL: Colorado is set to begin mitigating an underground abandoned coal mine fire believed to be one of two ignition points of the destructive 2021 Marshall Fire. (CBS Colorado)
TRANSPORTATION: Some California residents push back against a plan to reroute an Amtrak rail line to avoid climate change-triggered rising sea levels.
(E&E News, subscription)
BIOFUELS: Washington environmentalists raise concerns about a proposed biomethane production facility in the southern part of the state. (Yakima Herald-Republic)
CARBON CAPTURE: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. EPA administrator Michael Regan agree to work together to advance carbon capture and sequestration technology. (WyoFile)
COMMENTARY: A California climate researcher says Inflation Reduction Act incentives helped her break up with her natural gas provider and electrify her home. (Atlantic, subscription)
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