Arizona utility proposes new gas plant, data center subscriptions

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UTILITIES

• Arizona Public Service proposes a new gas plant southwest of Phoenix with a first phase designed to meet growing power demand and a second phase dedicated to serving data centers via a subscription model. (Arizona Republic)

• Idaho regulators approve a process for utilities to submit wildfire mitigation plans to comply with a new state law. (Idaho Capital Sun)

GRID

• An analysis predicts Northwest electricity demand may outstrip generating capacity by about 3,000 MW by 2030, potentially triggering rolling blackouts during extreme weather as soon as next year. (OPB)

GEOTHERMAL

• A Colorado coal miner launches a startup to develop residential and commercial geothermal heating and cooling systems. (Canary Media)

SOLAR

• Advocates petition state utility regulators to reconsider their approval of Idaho Power’s reduced compensation for rooftop solar customers. (Idaho Capital Sun)

• Northern California advocates push back against the proposed Coyote Creek utility-scale agrivoltaic solar project near Sacramento, saying it would destroy thousands of oak trees. (Sacramento Bee)

• Excelsior Energy Capital brings online its 685 MW solar project in Utah that will provide power to Meta data centers. (news release)

• NovaSource opens its utility-scale solar-plus-storage facility workforce training center near its corporate headquarters in Avondale, Arizona. (news release)

• Zamp Solar plans to shutter its Bend, Oregon, manufacturing facility as part of an effort to streamline operations. (KTVZ)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Advocates call on the federal Bureau of Land Management to remove 20,000 acres of prime sage grouse habitat in southwestern Wyoming from a proposed oil and gas lease sale, saying it violates the agency’s land-use plans. (WyoFile)

• Wyoming’s Energy Authority awards Basin Electric $4 million to study the feasibility of adding another coal-fired unit to its Dry Fork power plant. (news release)

• Republican New Mexico lawmakers urge regulators to use tax revenues to fund abandoned and orphaned oil and gas well cleanup rather than increasing industry’s reclamation bonds. (Source NM)

• California officials form a local government coalition to push back on the Trump administration’s efforts to offer offshore oil and gas leases along the state’s coast. (Lookout Santa Cruz)

CLIMATE

• California’s Air Resources Board proposes reducing the number of greenhouse gas permits it issues in an effort to hit the state’s 2030 carbon reduction targets. (E&E News)

TRANSPORTATION

• Brightline seeks a $6 billion federal loan to help with rising construction costs on its Los Angeles-area-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line. (E&E News)

• Washington state allocates $19.4 million to expand its electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (news release)

• Denver seeks applicants for another round of its popular electric bicycle rebate program that provides up to $950 for income-qualified residents. (9News)

RECLAMATION

• New Mexico’s Environment Department launches its abandoned uranium mine and petroleum facility cleanup effort, but says it will require millions of dollars in additional funding and take decades to complete. (Source NM)

COMMENTARY

• A former Colorado utility regulator urges electric cooperatives to reject supply contracts with data centers, saying they would require high-risk capital expenditures and could lead to stranded assets. (Big Pivots)

• A Colorado columnist says the Trump administration is hampering its own ​“energy dominance” efforts by stifling solar and wind and waging trade wars that drive up drilling costs. (High Country News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Energy bills are rising nationwide. In Georgia, they’re on the ballot. — Jeff St. John

• Virginia legislators have a new road map for reining in electric bills — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Chart: Batteries are set to surge onto the US grid — Dan McCarthy

• Massachusetts heat-pump owners are about to get cheaper electricity — Sarah Shemkus