Colorado regulators delay vote on Xcel’s wildfire plan

UTILITIES: Colorado regulators push back its deadline to vote on Xcel Energy’s proposed $1.9 billion wildfire hazard mitigation plan, saying they need more time to review it to ensure it doesn’t create new risks. (CPR)

OIL & GAS: 

• ConocoPhillips signs a $300 million deal to acquire some of Chevron’s oil and gas facilities on Alaska’s North Slope, bucking the trend of large companies selling out to private firms. (Alaska Beacon)
• Hilcorp lays the groundwork for oil and gas exploration near a national wildlife refuge in Alaska’s Interior. (Northern Journal)

SOLAR:

• New Mexico regulators raise the cap on community solar statewide from 200 MW to 300 MW over utilities’ objections, saying it will give the program room to ​“grow organically to the size it should be.” (New Mexico Political Report)
• The Biden administration awards three Idaho farms $2.5 million to install solar systems and an anaerobic digester to convert dairy waste to methane fuel. (Boise State Public Radio)
• Developers bring a 300 MW solar-plus-battery storage installation online in Arizona. (news release)
• A California strawberry farm tests a solar-powered electric harvesting machine. (KCLU)

CLIMATE: A southern California university begins requiring bachelor’s degree candidates to take at least one climate change-related course. (KPBS)

GEOTHERMAL: The U.S. Energy Department awards a geothermal energy research center in Utah an additional $80 million to extend the program until 2028. (Think Geoenergy)

BIOFUELS: A company completes construction on a multi-dairy anaerobic digester designed to convert 14,000 cows’ waste into pipeline-grade methane fuel. (Biofuels Digest)

GRID:

• A report comparing competing plans for a Western extended day-ahead power market favors the California grid operator’s proposal but stops short of endorsing it. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• New Mexico regulators launch an inquiry into the state grid’s ability to handle demand growth amid the energy transition. (New Mexico Political Report)

POLITICS:

• New Mexico campaign filings show Chevron donated $50,000 to a dark money group that supports moderate and conservative fossil fuel-friendly politicians. (New Mexico In Depth)
• Arizona environmentalists refuse to endorse a Democratic congressional candidate and climate advocate after she accepted donations from a cryptocurrency group, citing the digital coins’ high power use. (Arizona Republic)
• Advocates criticize a California assembly candidate for once owning more than $800,000 in fossil fuel company stocks after pledging not to accept donations from oil or tobacco firms. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Six Washington state airports seek federal funding for electric airplane charging infrastructure even though the technology is still experimental. (Washington State Standard)