California’s community solar debate

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• California advocates say utilities and regulators have failed to comply with a mandate to create a community solar-plus-storage program and that a proposed compensation structure is ​“fatally flawed.” (Canary Media)

• The Trump administration continues to block new wind power projects on federal lands after easing its freeze on new utility-scale solar permits. (E&E News)

• Invenergy and Arizona utility Salt River Project propose the 200 MW SunDog solar-plus-storage facility in Pinal County. (news release)

• Idemitsu Renewables begins commercial operation at its 60 MW solar-plus-storage project in Kern County, California. (news release)

• Enlight Renewable Energy secures $304 million in financing for its proposed 120 MW Crimson Orchard solar project in Elmore County, Idaho. (news release)

UTILITIES

• California advocates criticize Southern California Edison for boosting executives’ pay in the wake of last year’s deadly Los Angeles-area wildfire that may have been sparked by the utility’s equipment. (Los Angeles Times)

• Insurance firms and attorneys slam Arizona utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans, saying they are an empty exercise aimed at complying with conditions of a liability shielding law. (Arizona Capitol Times)

COAL

• The Trump administration issues a second emergency order to keep the Centralia coal plant in Washington state operating, even though the facility stopped running months ago and a state law would severely tax the power it generates. (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS

• The U.S. EPA orders Colorado regulators to redo six oil and gas well air pollution permits, saying the state failed to require adequate methane venting monitoring. (Colorado Sun)

• California files a legal challenge seeking to block the Trump administration’s order opening Sable Offshore’s oil pipeline along Santa Barbara’s coast. (E&E News)

• A peer-reviewed study finds methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells in Montana fluctuate depending on weather conditions, reinforcing the need for longer monitoring periods. (news release)

• A Wyoming economist says oil price hikes stemming from the Iran conflict are likely to boost state budgets, but won’t offset impacts to consumers. (WyoFile)

• IOG Resources III plans to drill 18 oil and gas wells targeting the Niobrara formation in the Powder River Basin. (World Oil)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• California transportation advocates urge the state to consider importing low-cost EVs from China in an effort to boost flagging sales. (Politico)

HYDROPOWER

• Federal regulators issue a preliminary permit for the proposed Desert Bloom pumped hydropower storage project in southern Nevada, but state officials say it will use too much water for the arid region. (Nevada Current)

POLLUTION

• California lawmakers introduce legislation that would authorize air regulators to hold ports, warehouses, and railyards accountable for pollution they bring to nearby communities. (CalMatters)

STORAGE

• Ormat Technologies brings online its 80 MW Shirk battery energy storage system in Visalia, California. (IndexBox)

DATA CENTERS

• NorthWestern Energy urges Montana regulators to dismiss advocates’ call for an investigation of the utility’s deals with data centers, saying it’s not yet providing electricity to the facilities. (Daily Montanan)