OIL & GAS: A peer-reviewed study finds oil and gas development in the Permian Basin is deforming the landscape and contributing to an increase in geological hazards. (NM Political Report)
COAL:
• A think tank’s report accuses federal regulators of failing to hold Peabody’s Black Mesa coal mines accountable for depleting a critical aquifer on the Navajo Nation. (Arizona Republic)
• California researchers use artificial intelligence to track coal dust emissions from trains traveling through the Bay Area. (Undark)
• The Jicarilla Apache Nation returns water it once leased to a now-shuttered coal plant in northwestern New Mexico to the San Juan River to benefit endangered native fish. (SF Reporter)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Republican U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming looks to channel Inflation Reduction Act funds to clean energy projects in his state even though he voted against the bill, calling it a “reckless green spending spree.” (Inside Climate News)
• California’s solar industry and environmentalists spar with labor unions over rules governing the slew of new clean energy jobs. (Politico)
• The U.S. EPA awards an Oregon university $650,000 to study clean energy storage development’s impacts on underserved and tribal communities. (Oregon Business)
• A community solar developer donates $6 million to a Navajo Nation college to train students to work in the clean energy industry. (news release)
SOLAR:
• Construction is completed on Alaska’s largest solar power facility, an 8.5 MW installation near Anchorage. (KTUU)
• A California university installs solar panels on student housing as part of an effort to become carbon neutral by 2035. (news release)
GRID: The U.S. Energy Department awards Washington state $23 million to harden the power grid against extreme weather and wildfires. (Washington State Standard)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado launches a program allowing residents to exchange used gasoline or diesel fueled cars for rebates on electric vehicle purchases. (Colorado Sun)
NUCLEAR: A U.S. appeals court finds federal regulators lack the authority to license private parties to store spent nuclear fuel away from the reactor, dealing a blow to proposed interim depositories in the Permian Basin. (Utility Dive)
HYDROGEN: Colorado researchers say they have developed an efficient and economical method of using solar energy to derive hydrogen from water. (Daily Camera)
BIOFUELS: Utah researchers harness a cocktail of bacteria to more efficiently convert cow waste to pipeline-grade methane fuel. (KUER)
CLIMATE:
• Architectural Digest chooses Denver as the nation’s most climate-resilient city, citing relatively few extreme weather threats and clean energy-friendly policies – but the analysis did not consider water availability. (Architectural Digest)
• Colorado researchers attribute increasing natural disaster-related damages to climate change and population growth. (KDVR)
COMMENTARY: Colorado petroleum engineers urge regulators to slow down and collaborate with industry to craft realistic oil and gas facility methane-emissions rules. (Colorado Sun)
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