Biden proposes end to coal leasing in Powder River Basin

COAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes ending new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana following a court order requiring the agency to redo a Trump-era land use plan. (WyoFile)

ALSO: Utah lawmakers hold a special session to tweak a new bill allowing the state to buy a retiring coal plant to extend its life. (Utah State Dispatch)

TRANSITION: New Mexico advocates urge regulators to require the state’s largest utility to develop a large-scale solar array in the northwest part of the state to replace generation and school funding lost with the 2022 closure of the San Juan coal plant. (Albuquerque Journal)

UTILITIES: California lawmakers kill a bill that would have required legislators to review a controversial new fixed electric utility fee. (Los Angeles Times)

EFFICIENCY: Portland, Oregon’s climate action fund plans to invest $140 million over the next five years on efficiency upgrades for low-income households. (Washington State Standard)

SOLAR:

• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signs legislation allowing residents to subscribe to community-owned solar arrays. (news release)
• A firm proposes a floating 25 MW solar array on a northern California sanitation district’s ponds. (Napa Valley Register)
• A study finds California’s net-metering policy slashing rooftop solar incentives has spurred a significant increase in residential battery storage installations. (news release)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $5.2 million to five Western startups to fund solar manufacturing research and development. (news release)
• A Montana electric cooperative plans to develop a third community solar project. (KPAX)

OIL & GAS: 

• U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, introduces legislation that would overturn new Biden administration rules increasing federal oil and gas royalties and reclamation bonds. (E&E News, subscription)
• The University of Wyoming partners with the state and a private firm to develop and test methods of stimulating oilfield production by injecting carbon dioxide and other gasses. (news release)

MINING:

• A lithium mining firm stakes about 400 claims on 8,000 acres of federal land in Nevada adjacent to Death Valley National Park, raising concerns from residents and advocates. (Las Vegas Review Journal, news release)
• U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, urges federal land managers to extend the public input period for a proposed battery-grade manganese mine in the southern part of the state. (Tucson Sentinel)

TRANSPORTATION: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs several bills creating new channels to fund public transit, including an oil production and a rental car fee. (Loveland Reporter-Herald)

HYDROGEN: An Oregon natural gas utility unveils a blue hydrogen-fuel production project that incorporates captured carbon into asphalt. (news release)