Advocates: hydrogen hubs imperil the West’s water supplies

HYDROGEN: Advocates worry proposed federally incentivized green hydrogen production facilities in Arizona and other arid states will further deplete already strained water supplies. (Floodlight)

GRID:

• Four tribal nations in northern California plan to use federal funds to build nested microgrids and a distribution line designed to reduce power outages and wildfire hazards. (news release)
• Xcel Energy says new data centers, electrification of vehicles and oil and gas production and economic growth are triggering a ​“material shift” in power demand on its Colorado, New Mexico and midwestern grids. (Utility Dive)
• SPP considers building extra-high-voltage transmission lines in the Permian Basin to help its grid handle expected ​“extreme” load growth. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Some Oregon advocates push back on proposed transmission line upgrades in Portland’s Forest Park, saying related tree removal could harm wildlife. (KGW)

UTILITIES: Nevada regulators propose allowing NV Energy to stop charging a single statewide disaster preparedness rate so customers in the southern part of the state will not subsidize wildfire prevention in the north. (Nevada Current)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Idaho sanitation company replaces its diesel-fueled garbage collection fleet with electric trucks. (Idaho Statesman)

OIL & GAS: 

• A peer-reviewed study in the Permian Basin finds injected oil and gas wastewater can migrate through geological faults for miles before triggering blowouts in old and previously plugged wells. (Inside Climate News)
• An advocacy group files a lawsuit alleging a Colorado petroleum refinery exceeded federal emissions standards more than 9,000 times since 2006 and accusing federal and state regulators of failing to enforce pollution laws. (CPR)
• Colorado’s attorney general considers intervening in a U.S. Supreme Court case in defense of an appellate court’s rejection of a proposed oil railway that would haul Utah crude across the state to refineries. (Colorado Newsline)

SOLAR:

• A Wyoming utility and a nonprofit seek a developer to build the state’s first residential community solar project near Jackson. (Buckrail)
• California-based rooftop solar installer SunPower files for bankruptcy, saying high interest rates and California net-metering changes depressed demand. (CNBC, E&E News, subscription)

ELECTRIFICATION: Berkeley, California’s city council votes to approve a ballot initiative that would tax large buildings that use natural gas-fueled appliances. (Daily Californian)

CLIMATE: An investigation finds Nevada officials continued to offer contracts to a startup even after its carbon emissions tracking system failed to perform as promised. (ProPublica)

POLITICS: U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming Republican, proposes removing Boulder, Colorado’s gas stations and streets, citing the progressive city’s efforts to fight climate change. (WyoFile)

BIOFUELS: A southern California city plans to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to produce biofuels from organic waste and sewage sludge. (news release)