California green hydrogen production project advances

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HYDROGEN

• Element Resources plans to begin construction later this year on a proposed $1.85 billion green hydrogen production facility powered by solar and storage in southern California, saying it will produce 22,000 tons of fuel annually. (PV Magazine)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Environmental advocates gather outside Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s ​“sustainable” energy conference to protest the Trump administration’s push to expand oil and gas drilling in the state. (Associated Press)

• Observers say the Trump administration’s fossil fuel-friendly policies may help keep the Colstrip coal plant operating longer, but are unlikely to lead to an industry resurgence. (Montana Public Radio)

• Utah residents and advocates criticize a municipal utility’s decision to invest in a natural gas plant, saying relying on fossil fuels poses financial and health risks. (Cache Valley Daily)

UTILITIES

• Hawaiian Electric proposes a $350 million wildfire hazard mitigation plan that would prioritize Maui, the site of deadly blazes in 2023. (Hawaii News Now)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Southern California regulators plan to vote this week on proposed regulations aimed at phasing out natural gas furnaces and water heaters. (Los Angeles Times)

OVERSIGHT

• A Colorado county official says the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision limiting federal environmental reviews is unlikely to affect its bid to block a proposed Utah oil-hauling railway. (Colorado Sun)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management rescinds 18 public land mining and energy-related regulations, saying they are obsolete or redundant. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Oregon seeks applications from tribes, public entities, and utilities for its $12 million Community Renewable Energy Grant Program that will incentivize clean energy and resilience projects. (KXL)

NUCLEAR

• Documents show a California startup looks to fabricate TRISO nuclear fuel at a Utah research center in addition to developing a small modular reactor, sparking concerns about public and worker safety. (Salt Lake Tribune)

• The Trump administration extends FAST-41 status to two proposed uranium mines in New Mexico to expedite permitting for the contested projects. (news release)

MINING

• The U.S. EPA orders Arizona regulators to redo an air quality permit for the proposed Hermosa battery materials mine in the southern part of the state to bring it into compliance with federal laws. (Tucson Sentinel)

GRID

• The U.S. Energy Department awards 14 entities in Alaska, South Dakota, and Nevada $8.1 million for developing, upgrading, and maintaining microgrid systems. (news release)

BATTERIES

• The California Energy Commission awards Unigrid $2.9 million to help the firm establish an advanced sodium-ion battery production facility in San Diego. (news release)

NEW FROM CANARY

• The Biden administration’s climate-smart agriculture initiative wasn’t perfect, but its cancellation under President Trump was for all the wrong reasons, Michael Grunwald writes.

Massachusetts utilities and regulators agree on a system for splitting the costs of infrastructure upgrades necessary to connect more solar power to the grid, Jeff St. John reports.