Colorado climate advocates divided over supply or demand policies

CLIMATE: Colorado climate advocates debate whether slashing fossil fuel demand, restricting oil and gas supplies or a combination of the two would be most effective in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. (Colorado Newsline)

ALSO: Washington state lawmakers allocate $30 million to provide fuel surcharge rebates to farmers and truckers not exempted from the state’s carbon cap-and-invest program. (Washington State Standards)

OIL & GAS: 

• Advocates urge policymakers to require long-term monitoring of plugged oil and gas wells following an increase in failed plugging jobs. (Bloomberg Law)
• A $450 million hydraulic fracturing sand firm merger is expected to increase capacity and oil and gas production in the Permian Basin. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Wyoming officials resist oil and gas industry pressure and vote to establish protections for a significant wildlife migration corridor. (WyoFile)
• A study finds oil and gas flaring and venting-related air pollution disproportionately burdens low-income, Latino and Indigenous communities. (news release)
• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would require oil and gas companies to plug up to 20% of their idle wells annually. (news release)

SOLAR:

• New Mexico advocates are skeptical of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s claims that on-site solar cannot meet the facility’s growing power demand. (KUNM)
• Arizona regulators order a solar installation firm to pay $8.7 million in restitution for allegedly selling unregistered securities to foreign investors. (Arizona Daily Star)
• A developer secures financing for a 220 MW solar-plus-battery storage facility under construction in central Arizona. (Energy Storage News)

WIND:

• The Yurok Tribe votes to oppose wind power development proposed off northern California’s coast, saying the 900-foot-tall turbines would harm sacred sites. (Siskiyou News)
• The U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation that would block federal agencies from advancing permitting for the controversial proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho. (Boise State Public Radio)

CLEAN ENERGY: The Biden administration awards Mountain West tribal nations about $26 million to bring electricity to off-grid homes and fund clean energy systems. (KUNR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A southern California port unveils the nation’s first all-electric tug boat and expects to begin operations next month. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

UTILITIES:

• Over 1,000 victims of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires plan to sue Hawaiian Electric and other entities, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. (Hawaii News Now)
• Two Montana Democrats and eight Republicans vie for three open seats on the state’s GOP-dominated utility regulatory commission. (Daily Montanan)
• An Alaska city contracts with an outside electric association to manage its municipal utility after an effort to sell the utility was voted down. (KDLL)

TRANSITION: A Navajo Nation nonprofit looks to convert a defunct rail line connecting a decommissioned coal mine and power plant in northern Arizona into a running and cycling trail. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)

ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado restaurants say switching from natural gas to electric induction stoves and ovens has improved their food quality and the kitchen atmosphere. (Rocky Mountain PBS)

COMMENTARY: A Montana advocate urges the federal government to stop leasing land to oil and gas companies, saying drilling will harm the state’s growing outdoor recreation economy. (Montana Standard)