Arizona advocates warn of ​“dangerous” energy situation in state

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

UTILITIES

• Arizona advocates say rising electricity rates, the Trump administration’s clean energy and utility assistance funding cuts, and state regulators dismantling renewable power and efficiency standards are creating a dangerous situation in the state. (Inside Climate News)

OIL & GAS

• An Alaska Native nonprofit files a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from revoking a conservation right-of-way aimed at protecting caribou during the Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska. (Tribal Business News)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes allowing oil and gas drillers to combine oil and gas they extract from different federal, state, and private lands and measure it at one location, allowing them to cut down on equipment they need to use. (E&E News, news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management is set to auction 138 oil and gas leases covering 141,292 acres in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada in three separate sales in March. (news releases)

• Oil and gas rights-holders file a lawsuit seeking to block California’s ban on drilling near homes, schools, and hospitals, claiming it is an unconstitutional taking of private property. (Fox 40)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Private equity firm Younan proposes a 700 MW solar-plus-storage array in eastern Kern County, California. (Renewables Now)

• Enlight Renewable Energy says it has secured offtake and interconnection agreements for its proposed 1,200 MW CO Bar solar-plus-storage complex in Arizona. (news release)

CLIMATE

• Seattle awards 12 community-based organizations nearly $935,000 to support climate adaptation, environmental education, and workforce development programs. (KOMO)

COAL

• Tri-State Generation and Transmission pushes back on the Trump administration’s order to keep its Craig coal plant in Colorado operating beyond its scheduled closure, saying the order is unconstitutional. (Colorado Sun)

STORAGE

• Wyoming advocates push back on a proposed pumped hydropower storage facility in the southern part of the state, saying it could harm a downstream trout fishery. (WyoFile)

NUCLEAR

• New Mexico lawmakers advance legislation that would allocate $50 million to remediate hundreds of abandoned uranium mines and other contaminated sites. (Source NM)

COMMENTARY

• A Colorado energy watchdog calls on Xcel Energy and state policymakers to boost distributed clean energy, microgrids, and virtual power plants rather than spending money on ​“expensive Band-Aids” for the existing, antiquated grid. (Daily Camera)

• A Utah physician urges state leaders to drop efforts to develop smaller advanced nuclear reactors, saying the technology is too expensive and dangerous and is ​“still a fraud, even in fun size.” (Deseret News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• The 4 lessons New England’s grid can learn from Winter Storm Fern — Sarah Shemkus

• What Winter Storm Fern revealed about the grid — Kathryn Krawczyk

• Colorado group looks to boost heat pumps with $200M federal grant — Alison F. Takemura

• A rare plant species thrives amid solar panels in the Nevada desert — Matt Simon