Arizona utility to replace coal units with gas

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• Tucson Electric Power plans to convert two of four coal-fired units at its Springerville power plant in eastern Arizona to gas by 2030 as part of the utility’s effort to reach ​“net zero” status by 2050. (Arizona Daily Star)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management rescinds a Biden-era plan to seek input on a proposal to restrict oil and gas drilling on more of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (E&E News, news release)

• An advocacy group finds oil and gas operators in New Mexico spilled and failed to recover 422,000 gallons of produced water and other materials during the second quarter of this year. (Source NM)

• California advocates say Sable Energy’s move to restart an offshore pipeline that ruptured in 2015 is a test of the state’s environmental fortitude. (Circle of Blue)

• A federal court denies advocates’ bid to revoke the U.S. Forest Service’s 2024 approval of the Crow Creek natural gas pipeline between Idaho and Wyoming. (Pipeline & Gas Journal)

DATA CENTERS

• Energy firm Tallgrass proposes an 1,800 MW data center and dedicated gas-fired and renewable power facilities near Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Associated Press)

• California regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s proposed interim rule allowing the utility to connect new data centers and large EV charging facilities through a standardized tariff. (E&E News)

• Google signs on to purchase electricity from Avangrid’s Juniper IIB wind facility in Gilliam County, Oregon, to power data centers in the northern part of the state. (Data Center Dynamics)

CLEAN ENERGY

• U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum moves to end ​“preferential” treatment for wind power development on federal lands, to terminate Biden-era offshore wind energy areas, and to review turbine-related risks to birds. (news release)

• Some California residents install plug-and-play balcony solar panels, even though they operate in a ​“regulatory gray area.” (KQED)

• California advocates say utilities’ political donations are motivating Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moves to slash rooftop solar incentives. (Mother Jones)

UTILITIES

• Pacific Gas & Electric agrees to pay the U.S. EPA a civil penalty of $45,273 for failing to report a 2023 natural gas pipeline release that seriously injured a utility employee. (Environmental Protection, news release)

• Nevada regulators order NV Energy to provide more information on its proposed ratepayer-funded wildfire insurance plan (Nevada Independent)

NUCLEAR

• Sawtooth Energy plans to submit a proposal next month to the federal Bureau of Land Management to develop a small modular nuclear reactor plant in southern Idaho at the site of the stalled Lava Ridge wind facility. (Idaho Statesman)

• California startup Kairos begins construction on an experimental small modular nuclear reactor in Tennessee. (E&E News)

HYDROPOWER

• Pacific Gas & Electric files plans to decommission the Potter Valley Project hydroelectric dams and powerhouse on the Eel and Russian rivers in California. (North Bay Business Journal)

• La Plata Electric Association in southwestern Colorado signs on to purchase power from a local hydroelectric dam as it exits its contract with Tri-State Generation & Transmission. (Durango Herald)

GRID

• California’s grid operator pilots a generative AI platform designed to automate and streamline the outage validation process. (Latitude Media)

COMMENTARY

• A California energy journalist recounts converting his home to all-electric and shutting off the gas. (Quitting Carbon)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• US aluminum producers need cheap, clean power. That may be tough to get. — Maria Gallucci

• A retired nuclear plant in Michigan is about to restart, a first for US — Eric Wessoff

• A pioneering​‘second-life’ battery startup begins major Texas expansion — Julian Spector

• The country’s biggest energy market struggles to reform amid soaring costs — Jeff St. John