CLEAN ENERGY: The nation’s first utility-scale wind and solar-plus-battery storage power facility, with 350 MW capacity, is commissioned in Oregon. (Associated Press)

ALSO: The Nature Conservancy touts a study that finds restricting renewable energy development from only on unprotected and previously disturbed lands in the western U.S. would cost just 3% more than unconstrained development. (PV Magazine)

Sponsored Link
Introducing our new weekly newsletter
It’s finally here: a weekly, national clean energy newsletter from the Energy News Network! Read the first edition of Energy News Weekly and sign up here.

SOLAR: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs into law a community renewable energy bill aimed at expanding renters’ and low-income communities’ access to solar power. (PV Magazine)

UTILITIES:
• More than 25% of southern California households can’t afford to pay their utility bills, forcing many to keep their homes at unsafe temperatures during heat waves. (ABC7)
• Stockton, California, joins a community energy authority, allowing residents to source power from 100% renewable resources. (The Record)
• Rocky Mountain Power replaces wood power poles and buries distribution lines in Utah to reduce the risk of equipment sparking wildfires. (KPCW)

GRID:
• Oregon regulators authorize construction of the proposed 290-mile Boardman to Hemingway high-voltage transmission line aimed at reducing grid congestion and enabling clean energy development. (T&D World)
• Alaska researchers develop a method to predict climate change’s impact on renewable power sources, allowing grid operators to determine an optimal energy mix. (news release)

HYDROGEN: A California utility says it has successfully tested a microgrid that uses excess solar power to produce hydrogen that’s then stored for use when solar’s not available. (Hydrogen Central)

NATURAL GAS: Oregon regulators reject a proposal to construct a 415 MW natural gas power plant near the Columbia River. (KPTV)

OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management rescinds the Trump-era authorization of a 5,750-well oil and gas drilling project in Utah’s Uinta Basin to allow the agency to analyze the plan’s climate impacts. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Sponsored Link
Help drive climate action in Minnesota and beyond
Help Fresh Energy drive ambitious energy and climate policies at this critical moment in history. Register for their October 13 Virtual Benefit Breakfast fundraiser with keynote speaker Julian Brave NoiseCat, a nationally acclaimed voice for climate action.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Biden administration approves Wyoming’s plan to use $26.8 million in federal funds to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but denied the state’s requests to allow more than 50 miles between chargers. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A Washington state startup successfully test flies its all-electric commuter airplane prototype. (Spokesman-Review)
• Operators of the world’s deepest open pit mine, located in Utah, plans to switch some of its equipment to electric vehicles on a trial basis. (Deseret News)
• A California city’s transit agency receives $13.6 million in federal funds to transition its bus fleet from diesel to electric. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION: Oregon regulators set a more aggressive timeline for companies to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels imported into the state. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

Avatar photo

Jonathan P. Thompson

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.