Arizona uses smart thermostats to avoid heat-induced outages

CLIMATE: Arizona utilities use demand-response smart thermostats to adjust customers’ air conditioners during peak demand, avoiding outages during extreme heat. (Canary Media)

ALSO: Los Angeles tests ​“cool” pavement that reflects infrared light to minimize heat absorption as heat waves’ frequency and intensity increase. (Los Angeles Times)

OIL & GAS:
• Federal officials delay a decision on upping protections for an imperiled Permian Basin lizard to collect more information after the oil and gas industry says the new rules could jeopardize production. (Carlsbad Current-Argus, subscription)
• California lawmakers advance legislation aimed at shielding the public from shouldering the costs of orphaned oil and gas well cleanups. (Bakersfield Californian)
• A Colorado county struggles to collect about $100,000 in back taxes from an oil and gas company that recently declared bankruptcy. (Telluride Daily Planet)

HYDROPOWER:
• California lawmakers consider a bill that would allow the state to procure funding for a proposed pumped hydropower storage facility near San Diego. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A federal agency considers ending a total of 500 MW of hydropower production at 13 Oregon dams to improve fish passage. (Salem Statesman Journal)
• Environmentalists’ proposal to decommission Glen Canyon Dam and end hydropower production gains steam among Colorado River water users. (Fox5)

UTILITIES:
• Nevada regulators order NV Energy to make its sports team sponsorship agreements public, rejecting the utility’s bid to keep details under wraps. (Nevada Current)
• A federal appeals court considers lifting a years-long pause on a shareholders’ class-action lawsuit against PG&E over losses incurred as a result of a deadly 2018 California blaze sparked by the utility’s equipment. (Reuters)
• California regulators propose a Pacific Gas & Electric rate increase to fund wildfire hazard mitigation. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• A Navajo Nation energy company receives a $2.6 million federal grant to install residential solar systems on remote tribal land. (KRQE)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management issues NV Energy two solar leases on more than 7,000 acres in Nevada’s Amargosa Valley. (news release)

NUCLEAR: California’s top air quality regulator says the state must include nuclear in its energy mix until it transitions to 100% clean energy. (Bloomberg)

CARBON CAPTURE: Amazon plans to purchase 250,000 tons of direct-air carbon removal from a company that plans to use some of the captured gas to stimulate aging oil wells. (The Verge)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A California bill that would require all electric vehicles in the state to be equipped with bidirectional charging technology dies in the state assembly. (CNET)
• An automaker opens an electric truck assembly facility in Washington state. (Electrive)
• A northern California county installs solar-powered mobile electric vehicle charging stations at regional parks. (North Bay Business Journal)

BIOFUELS: A Colorado company looking to produce jet fuel from corn delays its manufacturing facility’s construction as it pursues a $950 million federal loan. (9News)

BUILDINGS:
• A San Francisco Bay Area city is building an all-electric library expected to be the nation’s largest net-zero energy structure of its kind. (Construction Specifier)
• An Oregon nonprofit educates residents on the benefits of electrifying their homes and the incentives available to help them do it. (Reasons to be Cheerful)