Advocates and industry agree to speed solar, protect landscapes

SOLAR: Environmental and industry groups agree on a set of principles aimed at expediting utility-scale solar power development while protecting wildlife, landscapes and communities. (Los Angeles Times, news release)

ALSO:

• Arizona regulators vote to review rates utilities must pay new rooftop solar customers for exporting power to the grid following strong opposition from advocates and residents. (Arizona Daily Star)
• California’s grid operator sets a new solar peak generation record of 16,056 MW. (S&P Global)
• A company completes construction on a 5 MW solar installation at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah. (Mining Weekly)

CLEAN ENERGY: A Colorado coal and steel city reinvents itself as a clean energy hub with an expanding wind turbine factory, a solar-powered steel mill and a train testing center. (Colorado Newsline)

GRID: California researchers explore ways to reduce energy consumption and grid strain by pre-cooling homes and using them as ​“thermal batteries” on hot days. (news release)

MICROGRIDS: Pacific Gas & Electric launches a $200 million grant program to fund clean energy-powered microgrids in local and tribal communities. (news release)

ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado launches a $10 million grant program to fund public building electrification projects, such as replacing gas furnaces with heat pumps. (news release)

BATTERIES: California regulators work to deploy grid-scale battery energy storage systems quickly while also mitigating the risk of ​“thermal runaway” fires. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

CLIMATE:

• California’s new corporate greenhouse gas emissions disclosure law is expected to boost the state’s nascent climate accounting industry. (Politico)
• Washington state considers joining a California-Quebec cap-and-trade program, likely reducing its carbon allowance prices. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Colorado advocates push back against Xcel Energy’s plan to use carbon offsets and certified natural gas to meet state-mandated climate targets. (Carbon Credits)

COAL: Attorneys conclude arguments in a trial that could determine the fate of a proposed coal export terminal at Oakland, California’s port. (Oaklandside)

OIL & GAS: 

• A Colorado county votes to ban new oil and gas facilities within one mile of existing or planned water reservoirs. (9 News)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposal to restrict oil and gas development in parts of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. (Alaska’s News Source)

URANIUM: Ute Mountain Ute tribal members and advocates march against a Utah uranium mill as the facility’s owner prepares to restart two idle mines in the region. (Times-Independent)

CRITICAL MINERALS: A company plans to invest $44 million to establish a demonstration-scale rare earth elements processing plant at its Wyoming mine. (Cowboy State Daily)

CARBON CAPTURE: Developers bring a carbon capture demonstration project online at a Wyoming test center. (County 17)

COMMENTARY: An analyst urges federal regulators to guide battery materials mining toward ​“least conflict” areas, similar to how a California effort handles large-scale solar developments. (The Hill)