California lawmakers criticize oil merger, lack of reclamation bond

OIL & GAS: California lawmakers and advocates slam regulators for allowing an oil company merger without requiring new reclamation bonds, saying it could leave taxpayers with a $2.4 billion cleanup bill. (ProPublica)

ALSO: Alaska regulators conditionally approve a utility’s proposed pipeline that could be used to import natural gas to offset a predicted in-state shortage of the fuel. (Anchorage Daily News)

UTILITIES: Washington state and Montana utilities say they may soon implement public safety power shutoffs to reduce wildfire risk as warm, dry conditions persist. (Center Square, Montana Standard)

OVERSIGHT: U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, backs a controversial federal permitting bill, saying it would ​“unlock an American-made clean energy future.” (E&E News)

WIND:

• A utility paints wind turbine blades black at one of its Wyoming power facilities in an effort to keep birds from colliding with the towers. (Audubon)
• A Washington state utility signs on to purchase power from a 315 MW wind facility under development in Montana. (Power Technology)
• A rural eastern New Mexico university trains students for careers as wind turbine technicians. (Tech Xplore)

SOLAR:

• A California municipality considers a proposed 500 MW solar-plus-battery storage project on 1,955 acres of private land. (Antelope Valley Press)
• New Mexico begins accepting solar tax credit applications from residents who missed out on the incentives in previous years due to funding shortfalls. (Solar Power World)
• A New Mexico nonprofit installs a solar array on the nation’s oldest Christian church. (Solar Power World)
• A rural Oregon company establishes a niche installing solar arrays on affordable and multifamily housing. (Solar Power World)

BATTERIES: A California community choice aggregator launches a residential battery energy storage rebate program. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A California nonprofit breaks ground on a solar-and-battery powered bidirectional electric vehicle charging complex to support its 50-shuttle fleet. (PV Magazine)

BIOFUELS: A Colorado startup looking to produce biofuels from sugar beets at a Wyoming facility says it has secured $13 million in venture capital financing. (Cowboy State Daily)

COAL:

• Federal analysts expect Powder River Basin coal production to ramp up this summer as unusually high temperatures drive up electricity demand for cooling. (County 17)
• A Colorado city begins an effort to extinguish a long-burning underground coal seam fire in an abandoned mining area. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

CLIMATE:

• Several Republican-led Western states join others in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block U.S. EPA rules aimed at slashing coal and natural gas plants’ climate-warming emissions. (CNN)
• The U.S. EPA awards the Nez Perce Tribe a $37 million climate grant for residential efficiency retrofits, clean energy development and electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Idaho and Oregon. (Idaho Capital Sun)
• The University of Colorado Boulder looks to advance climate goals by hiring a sustainability director, developing off-site solar installations and using tax credits to fund decarbonization efforts. (Times-Call)

CARBON CAPTURE: Researchers propose sequestering carbon by burying or ​“vaulting” logs removed from Western forests to reduce wildfire risk, saying it could avoid an estimated 2.2 billion tons of emissions in coming years. (Grist)