Biden greenlights New Mexico clean energy transmission project

GRID: The Biden administration greenlights the proposed SunZia high-voltage transmission project designed to carry power from eastern New Mexico wind facilities to Arizona and California urban areas. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS:
• A think tank estimates it will cost $21.5 billion to plug California’s oil wells and dismantle surface infrastructure, decontaminate drill sites and conduct other cleanup work in the state. (ProPublica)
• California lawmakers kill legislation that would hold petroleum companies liable when their operations harm people’s health. (Fresno Bee)
• Wyoming’s oil and gas industry worries a Biden administration proposal to establish federal conservation leasing will be used to block oil and gas development. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public comment on a forthcoming lease sale offering about 600 acres for oil and gas development in the Permian Basin. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

UTILITIES:
• Pacific Gas & Electric agrees to a $150 million settlement for its involvement in the 2020 Zogg fire that killed four people and burned more than 56,000 acres. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• A California municipal utility plans to end its pause on utility shutoffs for non-payment in August, citing its financial inability to continue the pandemic-era policy. (Press-Telegram)

GRID: California’s grid operator approves 45 transmission system upgrade and construction projects with an estimated total cost of $7.13 billion. (North Bay Business Journal)

SOLAR:
• Meta signs on to purchase power from a proposed 200 MW solar power installation in Ada County, Idaho. (PV Magazine)
• U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, joins other lawmakers to introduce a bill that would incentivize solar power facility construction. (Las Vegas Sun)
• New Mexico regulators delay announcing selected community solar projects for a second time following complaints about the application scoring process. (NM Political Report)

COAL: Conservation groups sue Montana over its attempt to invalidate water quality standards aimed at protecting lakes and streams from selenium contamination from Canada coal mines. (news release)

NUCLEAR: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she intends to use all means to block a proposed interim spent nuclear reactor fuel depository in her state. (Politico)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Energy Department awards Colorado and Wyoming institutions more than $72 million to study and develop carbon sequestration hubs in the southern parts of each state. (WyoFile, Colorado Sun)

HYDROGEN: Developers of a proposed commuter rail line in California plan to use hydrogen-fueled trains. (Pleasanton Weekly)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Rocky Mountain Power plans to install electric vehicle fast-charging stations at 20 sites in Utah. (Green Car Reports)
• A company plans to install 52 electric vehicle fast-charging stations at 21 locations in Washington state by next year. (Center Square)

CLIMATE: Montana becomes an intense climate battleground as a closely-watched lawsuit over the state’s pro-fossil fuel policies goes to court following the passage of another fossil fuel-friendly law. (Washington Post)