California slashes rooftop solar incentives for farms, schools, apartments

SOLAR: California regulators vote to slash compensation for new rooftop solar at multimeter properties, potentially making it uneconomic for rental property owners, farms and schools. (Canary Media)

ALSO:

• A Colorado city completes a solar installation expected to offset 100% of its municipal facility and streetlight power consumption. (news release)
• A developer deploys an automated system to help construct a 225 MW solar installation in Arizona. (PV Tech)
• A Hawaii county streamlines residential solar permitting for systems under 10 kw. (West Hawaii Today)
• A Montana ski area installs a solar system expected to offset about 70% of a chairlift’s power use. (Snow-Forecast.com)

LITHIUM: A federal judge dismisses tribal nations’ motion to block the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, saying the plaintiffs did not prove it is on the site of an 1865 massacre. (KNPR)

CRITICAL MATERIALS: Federal regulators greenlight a proposed rare earth elements processing plant in Wyoming, clearing the way for construction to begin later this year. (Cowboy State Daily)

OIL & GAS: New Mexico lawmakers urge regulators to reject a utility’s proposed liquefied natural gas storage facility, saying it poses a safety threat to nearby neighborhoods. (NM Political Report)

UTILITIES: California regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s proposed $1.3 billion rate hike aimed at funding utility line undergrounding and other wildfire hazard mitigation. (Courthouse News Service)

TRANSPORTATION:

• New Mexico regulators adopt advanced clean car standards aimed at increasing the number of zero-emission trucks and cars on the state’s roads. (news release)
• California advocates urge Los Angeles officials to rethink the city’s transit networks instead of just repairing a freeway that remains shut down after a fire last week. (Los Angeles Times)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Energy Department awards $444 million for carbon storage research and development, including to projects in Alaska, New Mexico, California, Colorado and Wyoming. (news release)

STORAGE: California awards a startup $4 million to scale its thermophotovoltaic technology that stores power as heat in blocks of solid carbon. (PV Magazine)

COAL: Wyoming officials say new stipulations and red tape hamper them from receiving federal funds to clean up abandoned coal mines. (Casper Star-Tribune)

MICROGRIDS: A trade group finds inadequate regulatory support for microgrid development in all Western states but Colorado, which received a ​“B” grade. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY: A California columnist explores ways to make residential solar more equitable, but says slashing incentives before alternative solutions are implemented is ​“inexcusable” in an era of climate calamity. (Los Angeles Times)