Colorado rushes clean energy before federal incentives evaporate

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.

OVERSIGHT

• U.S. House Republicans pass resolutions using the Congressional Review Act to revoke federal Bureau of Land Management resource plans in Montana, North Dakota, and Alaska that restrict drilling, mining, and coal leasing. (E&E News, Associated Press)

GRID

• California lawmakers advance three bills aimed at increasing the use of virtual power plants, but strip the most ambitious proposal of provisions requiring utilities to build VPPs into their grid investment plans. (Canary Media)

• California advocates and lawmakers continue to debate a proposal to establish an integrated Western grid and day-ahead power market governed by a regional organization. (Capitol Weekly)

UTILITIES

• The U.S. Justice Department files two lawsuits accusing Southern California Edison of negligence in relation to January’s Eaton Fire and the 2022 Fairview Fire and seeking $77 million in damages. (Press-Enterprise)

• Advocates rally outside Arizona Public Service’s headquarters to protest the utility’s decision to renege on clean energy commitments, build a new gas pipeline, and keep a coal plant running beyond its retirement date. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE

• Montana utility regulators declare the state constitution does not require it to consider climate change or its impacts in its decision-making, drawing fire from advocates. (Daily Montanan)

• The cruise ship industry files a lawsuit seeking to block Hawaii’s new cruise-passenger ​“green fee” designed to fund climate change mitigation projects. (E&E News)

OIL & GAS

• Advocates file a lawsuit accusing Colorado Gov. Jared Polis of failing to ensure oil and gas facilities near Denver are complying with state and federal clean air laws. (Denver Post, news release)

• Washington state’s Supreme Court plans to review a lower court ruling that invalidated a ballot initiative limiting restrictions on natural gas hookups and appliances. (Washington State Standard)

NUCLEAR

• Uranium Energy Corp. says Wyoming, Arizona, and Texas are in the running to house its planned uranium refining and conversion facility. (Cowboy State Daily)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Xcel Energy says an effort by Colorado elected officials, advocates, utilities, and regulators to expedite proposed clean energy projects before federal tax credits expire could save customers $5 billion over the next 20 years. (Canary Media)

• Atlas Public Policy finds Trump administration policies could jeopardize three proposed solar projects worth about $1.6 billion on federal land in Arizona. (AZ Mirror)

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders the state’s Energy Working Group to identify and expedite proposed projects that might otherwise miss out on expiring federal clean energy tax credits. (PV Tech)

• Colorado’s clean energy industry says Montrose County’s proposed regulations would likely ​“amount to a near-ban on large-scale solar development.” (Big Pivots)

• Puget Sound Energy breaks ground on its 142 MW solar project in southeastern Washington. (news release)

STORAGE

• LS Energy brings its 200 MW Big Rock battery energy storage system online in Imperial County, California. (Solar Power World)

• California firefighters quickly contained a blaze at Arevon’s California Flats battery energy storage project in the central part of the state. (Energy Storage News)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The public-private Wyoming CarbonSAFE crew drills an 18,437-foot deep injection well in southwestern Wyoming as part of an effort to create what would be one of the nation’s largest carbon dioxide sequestration projects. (WyoFile)

COMMENTARY

• A New Mexico rancher urges state regulators to pass proposed bonding rules that would require oil and gas companies to pay to plug and reclaim their facilities. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• ‘Bizarre’ and​‘unlawful:’ States, Ørsted challenge Revolution Wind freeze — Clare Fieseler

• Chart: State lawmakers introduced a ton of anti-renewables bills this year — Dan McCarthy

• Virginia’s data center boom tests clean energy law — Elizabeth Ouzts

• These conservatives want government to stop working against clean energy — Kathiann M. Kowalski