ALSO: Arizona regulators approve a proposed high-voltage overhead power line through midtown Tucson following pushback from residents and city officials.  (Arizona Daily Star)

SOLAR: The U.S. EPA awards the Hopi Tribe in Arizona $20 million to bring solar power to about 900 off-grid homes. (KNAU)

BUILDINGS: The U.S. Energy Department awards Colorado $20 million to help implement its building performance standards aimed at cutting large structures’ carbon emissions, with the funds targeting disadvantaged communities. (Canary Media) 

CLIMATE: 

• Utah youth advocates ask the state Supreme Court to consider their lawsuit accusing the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies of violating their constitutional rights after a lower court dismissed their case. (Idaho Capital Sun)
• The Biden administration awards tribal nations $300 million to fund programs aimed at combating climate change and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, including about $113 million to tribes in Arizona, Alaska and the Northwest and Colorado. (news release)

OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators plug and reclaim 25 oil and gas wells in the western part of the state that were abandoned when the operating company went bankrupt. (Grand Junction Sentinel)

HYDROPOWER: The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in southwestern Colorado completes construction on an irrigation-integrated hydropower system that harnesses excess pressure in water pipes. (Hydro Review)

STORAGE: A fire breaks out in a grid-scale battery energy storage installation in a San Diego suburb as county officials consider banning new facilities until stricter fire safety restrictions are in place. (KUSI, Voice of San Diego)

WIND: 

• The Biden administration plans to advance a proposed marine sanctuary off the California coast that would carve out space for offshore wind transmission. (E&E News)
• Democratic U.S. senators from Oregon criticize federal regulators for allegedly rushing offshore wind leasing along the state’s southern coast as five companies prepare to bid on the parcels. (KDRV, OPB)
• Federal data show Colorado has the nation’s third highest number of wind energy-related jobs per capita behind North and South Dakota. (Axios)

COMMENTARY: An economist argues that more federal just transition efforts should be directed toward oil and gas communities to help devise holistic economic development strategies. (The Conversation)

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ALSO: Six candidates for Arizona’s utility regulatory commission are split down party lines on policy stances, with Democrats favoring clean energy and Republicans looking to keep fossil fuels in the mix. (Arizona Daily Star)

SOLAR: 

• Oregon nonprofits develop a community solar array in Portland aimed at providing power and reducing utility bills for about 150 low-income households. (OPB)
• Tribal nations in Nevada worry the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Western solar plan will lead to utility-scale development on the site of the proposed Basahwahbee national monument. (Nevada Current)
• California researchers look to develop solar arrays that benefit pollinators and ecosystems. (New York Times, subscription)

OIL & GAS: Observers say a northern California city leveraging a ballot initiative to extract a $550 million payout from Chevron over damages from its oil refinery could provide a model for other communities. (Politico)

ELECTRIFICATION: California legislation awaiting the governor’s signature would allow natural gas utilities to pilot up to 30 neighborhood-scale building electrification and decarbonization projects. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado allocates $1.3 million to fund an additional round of electric bicycle purchase rebates, saying residents have redeemed more than 6,700 of the incentives so far. (news release)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Energy Department awards a Wyoming research center $5 million to launch the first phase of a pilot project aimed at capturing carbon from a 450 MW coal plant. (Power)

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Energy Department awards New Mexico $2 million to install heat pumps, solar panels and other efficiency upgrades on 85 homes in disadvantaged communities. (news release)

GRID: 

• California officials say load-growth forecasts account for AI-processing data centers’ projected energy demand, but they do not know how it may affect residents’ utility bills. (San Diego Union-Tribune) 
• Bonneville Power Administration continues to object to California’s governance of a proposed day-ahead regional power market and leans toward joining a competing proposal. (RTO Insider, subscription)

NUCLEAR: Idaho National Laboratory brings online a hot cell facility for researching and testing materials used in nuclear reactors. (East Idaho News) 

CLIMATE: 

• Oregon regulators extend the public comment period on restarting its climate protection program aimed at cutting oil and gas companies’ emissions after a court invalidated a previous iteration of the plan. (OPB)
• Phoenix hits 100 consecutive days of triple digit maximum temperatures, leading to record-high power demand and hundreds of heat-related fatalities. (Washington Post)

MINING: A company begins construction at a contested battery metals mine in southern Arizona after state regulators approve its air quality permit. (Arizona Republic)

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CARBON CAPTURE: A California company cancels plans to build one of the world’s largest direct-air carbon capture facilities in Wyoming, citing intense competition from data centers for clean energy to power the facility. (Cowboy State Daily)

HYDROGEN: A southern California city plans to bring the nation’s first hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions passenger train online early next year, saying it will help air quality in a heavily polluted area. (Guardian)

OIL & GAS: A petroleum company official expects the Pikka drilling project under development on Alaska’s North Slope to be producing oil by 2026. (Alaska Beacon)

GRID: Unusually extreme high temperatures are forecast to grip much of California this week, increasing electricity demand and straining the grid. (Los Angeles Times, ABC7)

HYDROPOWER: Oregon researchers say relatively reliable wave power will play a critical role in the Northwest’s energy mix, but the technology may be decades away from utility-scale feasibility. (Oregonian) 

COAL: Railways report a 22% decline in coal-hauling volume from the Powder River Basin compared to last year, but don’t plan to reduce rail capacity yet. (Trains)

UTILITIES: A Colorado natural gas utility deploys a leak-detecting vehicle that is 1,000 times more sensitive than handheld tools. (KDVR)

COMMENTARY: A California journalist and electric vehicle-enthusiast worries the state’s lack of reliable chargers could stifle the transition from gasoline-powered cars. (Los Angeles Times)

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Wyoming’s high court rejects plan to slash rooftop solar incentives is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• California lawmakers pass legislation authorizing regulators to require manufacturers to equip electric vehicles with bidirectional chargers that can send power back to the grid. (E&E News, subscription)
• A California luxury electric boat startup looks to ramp up production and make the crafts available to a wider audience. (Associated Press) 

ELECTRIFICATION: California lawmakers pass legislation aimed at encouraging building electrification by increasing gas utilities’ transparency on fossil fuel investments and authorizing zero-emission pilot projects. (news releases)

URANIUM: The Navajo Nation adopts emergency legislation to strengthen radioactive material transportation regulations after an Arizona mine began shipping uranium ore across tribal land to a Utah mill. (Associated Press)

COAL: The Biden administration awards New Mexico $2.4 million to clean up abandoned coal mines. (KUNM) 

STORAGE: A startup plans to test its limestone-pellet thermal energy storage technology in Alaska next year. (Northern Journal)

GRID: 

• A southern California utility shuts off power to a Los Angeles-area community in an effort to reduce wildfire risk as landslides threaten power lines. (City News Service)
• New Mexico’s largest utilities remain undecided about which of two competing day-ahead regional power markets to join after a study finds they don’t need to follow Arizona’s lead to realize the greatest benefits. (New Mexico Political Report, RTO Insider, subscription)

OIL & GAS: 

• California Democratic lawmakers reject Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for a special session on a proposal aimed at stabilizing gasoline prices by requiring refineries to maintain minimum fuel reserves. (KCRA)
• A Colorado county considers ways to recover more than $9 million in overdue property and production taxes from an oil and gas company.  (Durango Herald)
• A federal judge rejects mineral rights holders’ challenge to taxes on carbon dioxide extracted from underground reservoirs in Colorado and piped to Texas oil fields. (Colorado Politics) 
• The Biden administration awards the Navajo Nation nearly $5 million to plug and clean up orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. (KTAR)

HYDROGEN: The Biden administration awards a Washington state startup $4.24 million to develop its hydrogen-electric aviation engines. (Biofuels Digest)

BIOFUELS: The Biden administration awards a Washington state refinery $26.8 million to begin producing sustainable aviation fuel from biomass feedstocks.  (Biofuels Digest)

GEOTHERMAL: California lawmakers pass legislation aimed at streamlining geothermal development by allowing counties to assume the state’s permitting role. (Think Geoenergy)

HYDROPOWER: An Alaska Native village and Democratic state lawmakers look to delay reauthorization of a hydropower dam for two years in the hope of ultimately decommissioning the facility. (Must Read Alaska)

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Arizona’s attorney general sues regulators over gas plant exemption is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO:

• Southern California Edison seeks regulators’ authorization to recover up to $2.7 billion in losses related to 2017 and 2018 wildfires from ratepayers. (Reuters)
• Portland, Oregon’s mayor urges regulators to reject a utility’s proposed rate hike, saying it would place an undue burden on the city’s most vulnerable residents. (KOIN) 
• Colorado utilities look to stave off an increasing number of power line-related bird electrocutions that spark wildfires. (Denver Post) 

SOLAR: 

• The U.S. Agriculture Department loans a Nevada electric cooperative $80.3 million to build a 37 MW solar-plus-storage installation. (Nevada Current)
• Observers say a growing number of Western water managers are considering covering irrigation canals with solar panels to generate power and reduce evaporation. (Water Education)
• Industry tentatively lauds the Biden administration’s finalization of its Western solar plan for federal lands, while advocates praise and criticize it. (news releases)

WIND: The Biden administration plans to auction offshore wind leases on nearly 200,000 acres on two sites along Oregon’s southern coast in October. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

POLITICS: Democratic and Republican contenders for Alaska’s congressional seat vie to be the most loyal to the oil and gas industry, with incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola opening a debate by shouting, “Willow!” (Alaska Public Media)

CLIMATE: Arizona launches a program aimed at assisting residents who are vulnerable to extreme heat by installing electric heat-pumps in low-income households. (KJZZ) 

STORAGE: Developers bring a 50 MW battery energy storage system online near Phoenix, Arizona. (news release)

GRID: California lawmakers pass legislation requiring utilities to study the feasibility of deploying grid-enhancing technologies such as advanced conductors. (Solar Power World)

OIL & GAS: 

• Democratic federal lawmakers ask a congressional watchdog to investigate oil and gas leasing and abandoned well cleanup on federal lands. (E&E News, subscription)
• ExxonMobil looks to sell its conventional oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin for $1 billion to focus on its growing unconventional shale production. (Bloomberg)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• The U.S. Transportation Department awards a northern California transit agency $14 million to install an undetermined number of level 2 electric vehicle chargers. (East Bay Times) 
• Washington’s trucking industry pushes back on a state program aimed at replacing diesel trucks with zero-emission vehicles, saying the timeline is unrealistic. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A rural, oil and gas-producing region in Colorado seeks federal electric vehicle charging station funding, saying it is a form of economic development. (Glenwood Post-Independent)

COMMENTARY: A Montana columnist calls on the state’s largest utility to build trust by being more transparent and increasing public involvement in its planning processes. (Daily Montanan) 

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California advocates say utility bill guts low-income energy programs is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.