COAL: The Biden administration proposes expanding coal waste regulations to cover inactive dumps at active facilities such as at the Four Corners power plant in New Mexico. (Energy News Network, news release)
OIL & GAS:
• Chevron rushes to prepare its Kern River Oil Field in California for flooding as melting of the state’s record-breaking snowpack swells a nearby river. (Los Angeles Times)
• National laboratory researchers develop methods to identify and characterize orphaned wells in a mostly defunct northwest New Mexico oil and gas field. (NM Political Report)
• Colorado advocates propose a statewide ballot initiative that would phase out new oil and gas permitting by 2030. (Colorado Newsline)
• A report finds proposed federal methane regulations for oil and gas facilities could lead to the creation of thousands of emissions monitoring and mitigation jobs in the Permian Basin. (Inside Climate News)
• A petroleum industry report finds the oil and gas sector pumped more than $16 billion into New Mexico’s economy in 2021 and directly and indirectly supported 92,510 jobs in the state. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
UTILITIES:
• Huntington Beach, California’s city council votes to exit the troubled Orange County Power Authority. (Los Angeles Times)
• Hawaiian Electric proposes an integrated resource plan for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 and acquiring 100% of its power from renewable sources. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
ELECTRIFICATION: Carlsbad, California, pauses proposed building electrification codes after a court shoots down Berkeley’s natural gas hookup ban. (Voice of San Diego)
GRID:
• Federal officials say the Western grid faces an “elevated” risk of electricity supply shortfalls this summer during periods of extreme heat. (Utility Dive)
• California’s grid operator expects new storage and generation and snow-bolstered hydropower to help it meet demand this summer. (RTO Insider, subscription)
WIND:
• Data show the Biden administration has issued an increasing number of eagle-take permits to wind power facilities while bringing fewer criminal charges for harming or killing the imperiled birds. (Associated Press)
• A Wyoming city expects extra emergency services to handle an influx of workers on a new wind turbine facility to cost $250,000. (Oil City News)
SOLAR: Developers begin construction on a 150 MW solar installation in southeastern Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)
NUCLEAR: A technology firm plans to build a nuclear reactor fuel fabrication plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. (Utility Dive)
HYDROGEN: Colorado lawmakers pass a bill that would incentivize clean hydrogen production and use, but producers say strict conditions could hurt rather than help the industry. (Utility Dive)
HYDROPOWER: A Republican and Democratic U.S. senator introduce legislation to reform and speed up hydropower permitting and relicensing. (Utility Dive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Pacific Gas & Electric and BMW test vehicle-to-everything technology that could be used to leverage electric vehicles as a grid resource. (Green Car Congress)
LITHIUM: Developers of the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron mine in Nevada say the site contains 168% more lithium than previously reported. (Pahrump Valley Times)
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