Arizona utility to convert coal plant to gas

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FOSSIL FUELS

• Arizona utility Salt River Project plans to convert its aging Coronado coal plant to run on natural gas by late 2029, saying it is the lowest-cost option for preserving generation capacity. (KJZZ)

UTILITIES

• Nevada utility regulators vote to investigate NV Energy for allegedly overcharging tens of thousands of customers and implementing an ​“improper remedy.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

• Utah utility Garkane Energy plans public power safety outages today in the southwestern part of the state, saying a large wildfire is approaching its power lines. (KSL)

STORAGE

• Amprius Technologies cancels plans to establish an electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in northeastern Colorado, marking the third cancelled clean energy project in the state this year. (Colorado Sun)

• Sacramento Municipal Utility District agrees to purchase power from a battery energy storage system at a decommissioned nuclear plant in northern California. (Energy Storage News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The developers of the proposed 1,150 MW solar and 4,600 MWh battery storage Darden plant in Fresno County, California, expect it to open the door to similar facilities on the region’s fallow farmland. (SFGate)

• Montana solar industry workers protest congressional Republicans’ proposal to eliminate federal clean energy tax credits. (KTVQ)

HYDROGEN

• Gold H2 says it has successfully tested a process using petroleum-eating microbes to produce hydrogen fuel in a depleted California oil and gas field. (Los Angeles Times)

OVERSIGHT

• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox launches a campaign as head of the Western Governors Association to overhaul and streamline federal energy permitting. (Deseret News)

DATA CENTERS

• Montana observers say a proposed data center’s developers may struggle to find or build enough generation to power the 600 MW facility in Great Falls. (Montana Free Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• WattEV breaks ground on its sixth heavy-duty electric truck charging depot at the Port of Oakland in California. (Charged)

PUBLIC LANDS

• The U.S. Senate parliamentarian finds a GOP proposal to sell off public land and other environmental rollbacks would require 60 votes to pass and should be stripped from the budget reconciliation bill, but Sen. Mike Lee plans to revise his provision and resubmit it. (Inside Climate News, Alaska Beacon)

• New Mexico advocates protest proposed public land sales at the Western Governors’ Conference in Santa Fe. (Source NM)

COMMENTARY

• A Colorado electric cooperative executive urges Xcel Energy to join the California grid operator’s regional day-ahead power market and transmission organization, saying it would offer more benefits and diverse resources. (Colorado Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY

• LG Energy Solution cuts the ribbon on its expanded Michigan EV battery factory, where it invested $1.4 billion to start making grid-scale batteries as well, Julian Spector reports.

• New York legislators vote to repeal a decades-old rule that guaranteed building owners a free gas hookup if they were within 100 feet of a line, which advocates hope will incentivize home electrification, Alison F. Takemura reports.