Berkeley rescinds the nation’s first natural gas ban

ELECTRIFICATION: Berkeley, California, rescinds its first-in-the-nation natural gas hookup ban in new construction after an appeals court ruled the ordinance conflicts with federal regulations. (San Francisco Chronicle)

SOLAR:

• A developer hopes to break ground this year on a 917 MW solar-plus-battery storage installation on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation in southwestern Colorado. (Durango Herald)
• New Mexico regulators estimate adding 200 MW of community solar to the grid will require $120 million in infrastructure upgrades. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A developer expects to start construction this summer on a 145 MW solar installation in northwestern Colorado to replace generation from a retiring coal plant. (9 News)
• A developer proposes a 60 MW solar installation in southeastern Washington. (RTO Insider, subscription)

WIND: A court ruling favoring opponents of a proposed substation on private land in southern California could hinder a tribal nation’s proposed wind installation. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming advocates and energy industry leaders are cautiously optimistic about a Biden administration plan to protect imperiled sage grouse that also wouldn’t threaten oil and gas and clean energy development. (WyoFile)

GEOTHERMAL: A geothermal energy firm considers dropping plans to develop projects in Nevada after local opposition and a lawsuit by Burning Man halted exploratory drilling. (Nevada Appeal)

OIL & GAS: 

• Advocates and celebrities join California Gov. Gavin Newsom to launch a campaign defending a 2022 law banning new oil and gas wells near homes, schools and hospitals against an industry-led effort to overturn it. (Associated Press)
• A federal court orders the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reevaluate its decision allowing oil and gas companies to harass polar bears on Alaska’s North Slope. (Courthouse News)
• An investigation finds an oil spill at a Chevron well in California continues to ooze crude into the environment 21 years after it began, even after the company agreed to pay $13 million over the pollution. (Desert Sun)

UTILITIES:

• Hawaii lawmakers urge state regulators to launch their own investigation into last year’s deadly Maui wildfires to supplement state and county probes. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• California regulators reject a city’s proposal to require a utility to bury a proposed transmission line. (Orange County Register)

MINING:

• Utah residents raise concerns about the potential impacts of a proposed direct lithium extraction project near a town in the eastern part of the state as developers claim their process is environmentally friendly. (Inside Climate News)
• A controversial proposed lithium mine in western Nevada would also produce boron, an electric vehicle-battery additive. (Nevada Independent)
• Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers from Western states introduce a ​“good samaritan” bill that would allow local and state governments and nonprofits to clean up abandoned mines without incurring liability. (news release)

COMMENTARY: Colorado must close regulatory loopholes allowing oil and gas companies to get out of cleaning up their old oil and gas wells, an editorial board argues. (Daily Camera)