Biden blocks drilling on 13 million acres of Alaska petroleum reserve

OIL & GAS: The Biden administration blocks new oil and gas drilling on 13 million acres of the 23-million-acre federal petroleum reserve in the Alaskan Arctic; the ban will not affect the controversial Willow project. (Associated Press)

ALSO:

• The U.S. Forest Service rejects a decade-old proposal to drill eight oil and gas wells and build a pipeline on federal land in southern California. (KCBX)
• A Colorado petroleum refinery files a lawsuit accusing state regulators of unfairly requiring the facility to meet ​“unreasonable” standards in its water quality permit. (KDVR)

PUBLIC LANDS:

• The Biden administration is poised to finalize a public lands rule aimed at putting conservation on a par with extractive uses by allowing entities to lease federal land for restoration or mitigation work. (Colorado Newsline)
• The Biden administration blocks new mining claims and oil and gas leases on 4,200 acres of federal land in central New Mexico for the next 50 years. (news release)

COAL: California researchers find coal train dust significantly affects the health of people living near rail lines, with underserved communities bearing a disproportionate burden of the impacts. (news release)

UTILITIES:

• An investigation finds Hawaiian Electric did not immediately respond to an alert of downed power lines prior to last year’s deadly Maui wildfires. (Washington Post)
• A Colorado utility proposes adding 400 MW of solar, wind and battery storage to its resource portfolio. (news release)
• PacifiCorp and NV Energy plan to add natural gas generation to their grids while also building out renewable power sources. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: California utilities and energy agencies seek $2 billion in federal funding to increase statewide transmission capacity and streamline clean energy interconnections. (Reuters)

WIND: A Washington state energy siting council recommends approval of a scaled-back version of the proposed Horse Heaven Hills wind facility in endangered hawk habitat in the southern part of the state. (Crosscut)

SOLAR:

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposed 600 MW solar-plus-battery storage installation in southwestern Arizona. (news release)
• Denver’s city council votes to spend $10.9 million to install solar carports and electric vehicle chargers at local high schools. (Center Square)
• A solar installation on University of Hawaii agricultural land begins commercial operations. (Hawaii Public Radio)

STORAGE: A 300 MW battery energy storage system comes online on federal land in southern California. (Solar Industry)

GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management greenlights a geothermal exploratory drilling project in northern Nevada. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Disneyland plans to replace gasoline-powered cars with fully electric vehicles at its Autopia attraction by fall 2026. (Los Angeles Times)