California launches climate-oriented land management plan

CLIMATE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils a climate plan that would see the state leverage more than 50 million acres of its land to optimize carbon absorption and reduce wildfire risk. (Los Angeles Times) 

ALSO: A Wyoming city and tribal nation seek federal greenhouse gas emissions-reduction funds for solar projects, microgrids and electric vehicles after the state refused to apply for the grants. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES: California lawmakers kill legislation that would have tightened regulations prohibiting utilities from spending ratepayer funds on advertising or lobbying. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:

• A Navajo Nation nonprofit works to install solar systems at 500 off-grid homes on tribal land each year. (ABC News)
• The developers of a proposed new city in northern California plan to partner with a university to build the region’s largest solar installation and incorporate livestock grazing. (CBS News)
• The U.S. EPA awards New Mexico $156 million and California $250 million to expand solar access to low-income and rural households. (news releases)
• A California airport unveils a new solar canopy installation expected to offset about 70% of the facilities’ power use. (KABC)
• The U.S. Agriculture Department awards rural Utah businesses $1.8 million to install solar systems. (Utah News Dispatch)

WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management extends the public scoping period for the proposed 600 MW Jackalope wind facility in Wyoming. (Cheyenne Post)

EFFICIENCY: Honolulu officials plan to extend efficiency measures to 80 additional facilities after they saved the city $2.7 million in utility costs last year. (KHON)

CLEAN ENERGY: Utah cities scramble to find clean energy sources after Rocky Mountain Power decided to postpone its planned coal-generation phaseout. (Salt Lake Tribune)

TRANSPORTATION:

• Colorado regulators slash Xcel Energy’s proposed electric vehicle charging infrastructure plan by 40%, saying the utility failed to demonstrate it would minimize costs and maximize benefits. (Colorado Sun)
• Construction begins on a $12 billion high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. (Press-Enterprise)

WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management extends the public scoping period for the proposed 600 MW Jackalope wind facility in Wyoming. (Cheyenne Post)

BATTERIES: Colorado’s economic development commission approves $1.1 million in incentives for a proposed sodium-ion battery manufacturing facility in the northeastern part of the state. (Greeley Tribune)

LITHIUM: California advocates file a lawsuit challenging a proposed direct lithium extraction operation at the Salton Sea, saying the county’s review downplays the project’s water use and other environmental impacts. (inewsource)

COAL: Federal regulators indicate they will nullify a new Montana law loosening water quality standards for coal mines because it is weaker than federal rules. (Montana Free Press)

OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposal to revoke oil and gas leases on 6,000 acres in the Permian Basin that are the target of an environmentalists’ lawsuit. (KRQE)