Western Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition was compiled by Jonathan Thompson.
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GEOTHERMAL:
• Federal wildlife officials grant an emergency Endangered Species Act listing to a rare Nevada toad, jeopardizing a planned geothermal development on its habitat that officials say threatens the amphibian. (Nevada Current)
• A California municipal utility enters a 10-year agreement to purchase power from a geothermal project. (Renewables Now)
WIND:
• Federal prosecutors charge energy developer ESI for killing nine golden and bald eagles at Wyoming and New Mexico wind facilities. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A Washington state developer proposes a 2,000 MW floating offshore wind facility 43 miles off the Olympic Peninsula’s coast. (news release)
• Construction begins on a 477 MW wind power project in northern Arizona. (Arizona Daily Sun)
• California’s grid operator sets a new wind generation record of 6.718 MW. (S&P Global)
SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management solicits solar lease bids for a 1,635-acre parcel in southern Nevada designated for development under the Trump administration. (news release)
GRID:
• Heavy snow and wind damage Oregon and Washington utility lines, leaving almost 50,000 residents without power. (Associated Press)
• Alaska utilities propose forming an electric reliability organization to oversee standards and planning for the Railbelt power grid. (KDLL)
OIL & GAS:
• New Mexico environmental advocates push state and federal regulators to clean up leaking and apparently abandoned oil and gas wells in the state’s northwest corner. (NM Political Report)
• A federal judge rejects a whistleblower’s claim that the Bureau of Management fired him for advocating for endangered birds at a Wyoming oil and gas field. (WyoFile)
• ConocoPhillips says more than 7.2 million cubic feet of natural gas escaped from a leak in one of its Alaska drilling facilities last month. (Reuters)
TRANSPORTATION: A California school district will use a $9.6 million state grant to purchase electric buses and charging infrastructure for schools in polluted neighborhoods. (CBS8)
COAL: A federal appeals court finds the Trump administration violated environmental laws by not considering climate impacts when it approved a Montana coal mine expansion in 2018. (Courthouse News)
ELECTRIFICATION: Economists say California’s high electricity prices could threaten climate goals by slowing electrification of buildings and vehicles. (E&E News)
HYDROPOWER:
• Drought-diminished Colorado River dam hydropower production lowers electricity sale revenues — the primary funding source for federal endangered fish recovery programs. (Colorado Sun)
• A diverse coalition proposes giving tribal governments more say over hydropower projects and streamlining licensing for offstream pumped storage projects. (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• A Colorado columnist welcomes the U.S. EPA’s rejection of a deal between an oil company and state regulators that would have allowed a refinery to continue polluting a predominantly Latinx neighborhood. (Colorado Sun)
• An energy analyst argues California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant should continue operating so new renewable capacity can displace fossil fuels rather than replace lost nuclear power. (Nation)
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