Avangrid cancels contested solar project in Washington

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• Avangrid withdraws its proposed Badger Mountain solar project in central Washington following opposition from the Colville and Yakama tribal nations, who said the project would have threatened cultural traditions. (High Country News)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management begins reviewing the proposed 500-MW Mosey solar-plus-storage project in Clark and Nye counties in Nevada. (E&E News)

• A study finds that siting is the dominant factor determining solar project permitting timeframes in California, not size or proximity to communities. (PV Magazine)

• Lightsource BP proposes a 322-MW solar-plus-storage project on private land east of the Denver International Airport. (Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel)

• Tesla signs on to purchase 90% of the output from the 509-MW Project Sterling solar-plus-storage facility under development in Arizona. (electrek)

• University of Nevada Las Vegas researchers develop a solar-powered household filtration and distillation unit to treat and reuse graywater in rural communities. (Fox 5)

GRID

• The U.S. Energy Department orders the Southwest Power Pool regional grid operator to dispatch generators to maintain electric service in 17 states during forecasted high heat. (KMSP)

• Arizona’s two largest utilities say extreme heat drove peak energy demand on their grids to new record highs last week. (KTAR, news release)

• Xcel Energy plans to add nearly 4,000 MW of wind, solar, and natural gas generation and battery storage to its grid by 2030 to help meet demand in Texas and New Mexico. (KVII)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Chevron proposes a 40-well oil and gas project near Commerce City, Colorado, drawing residents’ concerns. (KDVR)

HYDROPOWER

• Indigenous and environmental advocacy groups file motions urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny preliminary permits for the proposed Chilchinbeto pumped hydropower storage project on the Navajo Nation, saying it would further harm the historic coal mining area. (news release)

• A Utah city looks to rebuild the hydropower system that provided one-third of its electricity until it was recently destroyed by flooding off of a wildfire burn scar. (ABC 4)

DATA CENTERS

• NV Energy files a lawsuit accusing data center developer Tract of attempting to skirt state rulemaking by using private arbitration to force the utility to provide power to the developer while shifting costs to Nevada customers. (Nevada Independent)

• Environmental groups file an administrative appeal challenging the federal Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the167-MW Townsite data center on public land in southern Nevada. (news release)

NUCLEAR

• The U.S. Energy Department selects Utah, Idaho, and three other states as candidates for a nuclear lifecycle innovation campus that would store, recycle, and process spent reactor fuel. (The Hill, Deseret News)

CLIMATE

• Boulder, Colorado, officials ask the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the city to move forward with a lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel corporations accountable for climate change-related damages, saying doing so is an ​“exercise of traditional state power.” (E&E News)

TRANSPORTATION

• The California High Speed Rail Authority seeks private investors to help fund the project’s expansion beyond the Central Valley. (Grist)

• A California auto dealers report finds hybrid car sales in the state have overtaken EV sales for the first time since 2020. (CBS News)