Colorado cannabis growers drain Xcel Energy’s efficiency program

UTILITIES: Xcel Energy seeks an additional $34 million for a Colorado program that funds business customers’ efficiency upgrades after spending most of its budget on indoor cannabis growing facilities. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO

• Montana regulators begin investigating allegations that NorthWestern Energy’s advisory committee has violated state open meetings rules. (Daily Montanan)
• Xcel Energy warns western Colorado customers it may de-energize some of its lines to prevent them from sparking wildfires during hazardous conditions. (CPR)

GRID: A clean energy nonprofit and industry partners plan to introduce model virtual power plant utility rules and legislation in New Mexico and other states to encourage them to deploy distributed grid resources. (Canary Media)

SOLAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department awards Colorado, Idaho and Washington nearly $6 million to support solar installation planning, siting and permitting on private and tribal lands. (news release)
• A developer expects to complete construction this year on a 12.2 MW solar installation in western Colorado designed to power an oil and gas facility. (news release)

POLITICS: Energy issues dominate the Nevada race for U.S. Senate, with Democratic incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen pushing clean energy and Republican Sam Brown calling for less utility-scale solar and more oil and gas drilling. (Inside Climate News)

BATTERIES:

• A firm says it has installed 18 MWh of battery energy storage systems on Utah homes with rooftop solar as part of a utility’s virtual power plant incentive program. (Utility Dive)
• A company begins manufacturing utility-scale lithium battery modules at its Utah facility. (Renewable Energy World)

OIL & GAS: Climate advocate Bill McKibben describes the Permian Basin as a ​“greenhouse gas bomb” and calls on New Mexico to reduce its financial reliance on oil and gas development. (KSFR)

GEOTHERMAL: A Colorado county begins converting its administration building to geothermal heating and cooling. (Vail Daily)

NUCLEAR: A rural Oregon county considers a proposed measure that would allow it to bypass state regulations and site small modular reactors. (OPB)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Ford and Southern California Edison partner to compensate electric vehicle owners for exporting battery power to the grid during peak demand. (news release)
• Zion National Park in Utah replaces its shuttle fleet with electric vehicles. (National Parks Traveler)

PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming lawmakers criticize a retooled plan for 3.6 million acres of federal land in the southwest corner of the state even though it opens considerably more acreage to energy development than last year’s draft plan. (WyoFile)