MICROGRIDS: A northern California county relied on generator-powered microgrids to provide electricity to residents for nearly a month after a wildfire knocked out a critical transmission line. (Los Angeles Times)
CLIMATE: Young Oregon advocates hold rallies in five cities and call on Gov. Tina Kotek to declare a climate change emergency. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
OIL & GAS: A study finds New Mexico regulators lack the resources to enforce new oil and gas emissions rules, threatening the state’s abilities to meet climate goals. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
OVERSIGHT: The Biden administration authorizes states and tribal nations to review pipelines, dams and other federally regulated projects within their borders, reversing a Trump-era revocation of the rule. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• A California appeals court will hear environmental groups’ challenge to the state’s recently adopted rules slashing net-metering compensation for rooftop solar. (KPBS)
• An environmental group sues the federal Bureau of Land Management, accusing it of allowing utility-scale solar development and illegal cattle grazing to destroy endangered desert tortoise habitat in southern Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
NUCLEAR:
• California environmental groups call on federal regulators to shut down one of two reactors at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, saying there is a risk of “nuclear meltdown” until a critical pressure vessel is tested. (Associated Press)
• Uranium prices hit a 12-year high, providing impetus for companies to revive long-idle mines in Wyoming and the Southwest. (Financial Times)
• Wyoming partners with an energy company to explore the feasibility of heating and powering trona mining operations with advanced nuclear reactors. (Cowboy State Daily)
BATTERIES:
• A company delays construction of a lithium phosphate battery cell factory in Tucson, Arizona, until November to conduct further site surveys. (Arizona Republic)
• Opponents of a proposed grid-scale battery storage installation in central California successfully put the issue on the local ballot for November. (New Times)
• An Alaska native corporation invests in a proposed mine near Nome that would target a huge deposit of graphite, which is used in batteries. (KNOM)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Republican-dominated U.S. House passes a bill aimed at blocking states — such as California and Washington — from banning the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles. (Spokesman-Review)
• A developer plans to break ground this month on a 40-unit electric vehicle charging center with an onsite market, car wash and lounge in southern California. (Orange County Register)
HYDROGEN:
• California environmental justice advocates urge state and federal officials to ensure impacts of a proposed hydrogen production hub in Los Angeles aren’t disproportionately piled upon Black and Latino communities. (Sierra)
• California lawmakers agree to spend $106 million from a climate program on hydrogen fueling stations, even though only 1% of the state’s zero-emission cars run on the fuel. (CalMatters)
TRANSITION: A long history of coal production comes to an end in Carbon County, Utah, driving leaders to look to tourism and manufacturing to buoy the economy. (Fox 13)
GRID: A mutual aid program aims to bring electricity to some 13,000 off-grid homes on the Navajo Nation. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)
BIOFUELS: The U.S. Energy Department awards more than $7 million to four bioenergy research and development projects in Western states. (news release)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West