CLIMATE: Washington state’s new carbon-pricing program exceeds expectations by bringing in more than $900 million so far. (Seattle Times)
ALSO: California advocates call on the state to increase funding and efforts to mitigate the effects of extreme heat, the state’s deadliest form of weather. (Politico)
UTILITIES:
• Multiple lawsuits accuse Hawaiian Electric of delaying grid modernization projects that could have prevented the deadly Maui wildfires blamed on the utility’s equipment. (NBC News)
• Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says the state prosecutor’s review of the deadly Maui wildfires is “not a criminal investigation in any way.” (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
• San Jose, California’s city council delays a decision on creating its own electric utility to allow further study. (San Jose Spotlight)
GRID: Extreme heat and wildfire-triggered hydropower shutdowns strain power grids in the Northwest. (KUOW)
OIL & GAS:
• A Colorado town calls on regulators to force an oil and gas company to plug and reclaim 95 low-producing wells to clear the way for housing development. (Colorado Sun)
• A Democratic U.S. lawmaker from New Mexico introduces a bill that would require oil and gas companies to reimburse workers for health costs associated with air pollution and heat-related illnesses. (Associated Press)
• Permian Basin oil and gas producers experiment with using produced wastewater to irrigate cotton, rye grass and other crops. (Odessa American)
• Alaska’s congressional delegation blasts a federal court for upholding the Biden administration’s suspension of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (news release)
LITHIUM:
• Automaker Stellantis plans to invest more than $100 million in a geothermal brine lithium extraction project at the Salton Sea in southern California. (Detroit News)
• Utah lawmakers consider increasing restrictions on mineral extraction in the Great Salt Lake after sparring with a lithium company over its proposed operations there. (Salt Lake Tribune, subscription)
SOLAR:
• Developers bring a solar installation and microgrid online at a southern California U.S. Army base. (Orange County Register)
• A New Mexico startup partners with a manufacturer to incorporate fluorescent quantum dot technology in solar modules. (Solar Industry)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Democratic U.S. lawmakers in Washington state call on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to back a proposed bullet train linking Seattle and Portland, Oregon. (KOIN)
• Washington’s state-run ferry service awards a ship builder $150 million to convert three of its vessels to hybrid-electric power. (Washington State Standard)
• Circle K opens two electric vehicle charging stations in southern California, the first of 20 planned for the West Coast. (Retail Dive)
NUCLEAR: A Bill Gates-backed company purchases land in a Wyoming coal town for its proposed advanced nuclear reactor. (news release)
HYDROPOWER: A developer advances a proposed $1.5 billion pumped hydropower storage project in northwestern Colorado. (Steamboat Pilot & Today)
BIOFUELS: Utah researchers develop a method of producing jet fuel from juniper tree wood. (KSLTV)
COMMENTARY:
• California researchers call on the state and federal governments to cover irrigation canals with solar panels to conserve water and meet clean energy goals. (Los Angeles Times)
• A conservationist says a northwestern New Mexico’s coal plant demolition and solar plant construction show the region’s energy transition is on track. (Durango Herald)
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