PUBLIC LANDS: The Biden administration plans to establish the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument on 450,000 acres of federal land in southern Nevada that is held sacred by Mojave Desert Indigenous peoples and has been targeted for wind and solar power development. (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators identify several “significant issues” with an Oregon company’s draft design application for the 77 MW small modular reactor it would use in a proposed Idaho power installation. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado oil and gas operators use relatively strict state regulations in their favor by marketing their products as “cleaner” than those from less-regulated states. (E&E News)
• A Colorado oil and gas producing county opposes environmentalists’ call for comprehensive rules that would address drilling’s cumulative impacts on the environment and underserved communities. (Post Independent)
• California oil and gas industry representatives reportedly rely on false premises to get residents to sign petitions to overturn new drilling regulations. (Inside Climate News)
• Wyoming’s oil and gas industry says the Biden administration’s proposed rules aimed at limiting methane emissions from drilling on federal lands will create “regulatory uncertainty” for small producers. (Cowboy State Daily)
NATURAL GAS: The San Joaquin Valley’s air pollution district approves a proposal to expand a central California natural gas power plant’s generation capacity. (Bakersfield Californian)
TRANSPORTATION: California’s energy commission explores the state’s high gasoline prices in advance of a special legislative session to consider a windfall profit tax on petroleum refiners. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• New Mexico cybersecurity researchers warn of potential cyberattacks on electric vehicle chargers. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A study finds six Western states are among the nation’s top 10 for the number of electric vehicle chargers per capita. (Governing)
• Caterpillar successfully demonstrates its all-electric mining haul truck in Arizona. (Batteries News)
STORAGE:
• An Idaho battery manufacturing startup raises $75 million to finance construction of its KOREPlex Gigafactory in Arizona. (Canary Media)
• National energy labs in California and Colorado launch a consortium to spur thermal energy storage development for buildings. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR: A Colorado nonprofit refurbishes used solar panels and installs them on low-income households. (CPR)
UTILITIES: Colorado wholesale power provider Tri-State Generation and Transmission stands to lose 25% of its revenue as cooperatives flee to buy electricity on the open market or generate it themselves. (Colorado Sun)
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