Alaska heat pump sales tick up alongside natural gas prices

ELECTRIFICATION: Alaska efficiency advocates say heat pump sales have soared following steep natural gas, propane and heating oil price hikes. (Wired)

ALSO: New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would prohibit local governments from banning specific fuels such as natural gas or propane. (NM Political Report)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California electric vehicle advocates predict Tesla’s move to open its chargers to other companies’ cars will boost the state’s EV adoption rate. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Oregon lawmakers consider legislation that would offer rebates of up to $1,700 on electric bike purchases. (KOIN)

BATTERIES: A German company plans to construct a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Casa Grande, Arizona. (news release)

SOLAR:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management’s plan to expand its Western solar program sparks tension between clean energy advocates and environmentalists who prioritize landscape and habitat preservation. (Inside Climate News)
• Companies submit more than 400 applications to develop installations for New Mexico’s new community solar program. (NM Political Report)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards a New Mexico partnership $3.2 million to fund efforts to use concentrated solar to produce cement. (news release)

WIND: A Wyoming biologist says federal wildlife officials are underestimating wind power facilities’ impact on bald and golden eagles. (Cowboy State Daily)

GRID: A northern California city considers requiring new commercial and multifamily residential developments to underground utility lines to reduce fire risk. (Siskiyou Daily News)

UTILITIES: New Mexico regulators push back against proposed legislation that would let local governments set up utilities, saying it represents a significant break from the current regulatory framework. (Albuquerque Journal)

OIL & GAS:
• Researchers find exposure to oil and gas wastewater causes lasting harm to freshwater species critical to the food chain. (Inside Climate News)
• Alaska lawmakers vote unanimously to urge the Biden administration to approve ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas drilling project. (Alaska Beacon)
• U.S. senators from New Mexico introduce a bill that would increase federal funding for finding, studying and plugging abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A Colorado county urges the federal Bureau of Land Management to halt new oil and gas leasing on some lands with high conservation values. (Steamboat Pilot)
• Alaska lawmakers withdraw a bill that would have changed oil and gas property tax assessment methods after discovering a single company was behind the legislation. (Arctic Sounder)
• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would require refineries to purchase at least 50% of oil they process from in state. (The Sun)

COAL: A Montana lawmaker introduces a bill that would weaken water quality standards put in place to protect fish from selenium emanating from coal mines in Canada. (Flathead Beacon)

MICROGRIDS: Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar is building a proving ground in Arizona to test solar, wind and microgrids that would power mining complexes. (Arizona Daily Star)

GEOTHERMAL: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduces bills that would expand the size limit and streamline permitting for geothermal projects. (Daily News-Miner)

CLIMATE: California startups work to scale up direct ocean carbon capture. (Pasadena Star-News)

CRITICAL MINERALS: Wyoming lawmakers pass a bill seeking to give the state regulatory oversight over rare earths mining and waste disposal. (Casper Star-Tribune)