Colorado study: Plugged oil wells don’t leak, abandoned ones do

OIL & GAS: A Colorado university study finds some unplugged, abandoned oil and gas wells are emitting up to 142% more methane and other pollutants than the statewide average, while 108 plugged wells had zero emissions. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO:

• Permian Basin oil and gas companies say they are working to find ways to reuse drilling wastewater to reduce the industry’s freshwater consumption. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• New Mexico lawmakers scramble to prop up the film, cannabis and tourism industries to offset a predicted decline in oil and gas tax revenues and jobs. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Researchers study noise and light pollution’s impacts on songbirds in northwestern New Mexico’s oil and gas fields. (VOA)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado regulators approve rules aimed at reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by requiring 82% of car sales be electric or zero-emissions vehicles by 2032. (Colorado Sun)

ELECTRIFICATION: A California lawmaker proposes offering tax credits to landscaping businesses to offset costs of transitioning to electric and zero-emission equipment. (Orange County Register)

GRID: Battery storage and grid upgrade projects in Hawaii receive nearly $18 million from a $3.5 billion pot of federal funding for grid resilience. (Hawaii Public Radio)

WIND: Colorado offers up to $23 million in incentives aimed at luring a wind turbine blade manufacturer to establish a 2,300-job production facility in the state. (Greeley Turbine)

SOLAR: A Washington state pilot program installs rooftop solar systems on farmworkers’ homes in the Yakima Valley. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

CLIMATE:

• Montana advocates and industry debate revising the state’s environmental laws after a court orders regulators to consider climate in permitting reviews. (Billings Gazette)
• Arizona advocates urge the state to finish setting up a new energy office to take advantage of a slew of federal climate-related funding. (KJZZ)

BATTERIES: Oregon officials grapple with a rising number of lithium-ion battery fires in landfills. (OPB)

POLLUTION: The U.S. EPA clears the way for California to implement shipping emissions reduction rules compelling vessels to plug into electrical power while in port. (KTVU)

PUBLIC LANDS: The federal Bureau of Land Management extends the public input period on a plan that would limit energy development on 3.6 million acres in southwestern Wyoming following pushback from conservative lawmakers. (WyoFile)

NUCLEAR: Colorado researchers near completion of a rail car designed to safely transport spent nuclear reactor fuel. (Denver Gazette)

CARBON CAPTURE: California regulators seek public input on overseeing carbon sequestration on private land. (Bakersfield Californian)

COMMENTARY:

• A California editorial board accuses the oil and gas industry of exploiting Latino people’s economic anxieties to slow the transition to zero-emissions vehicles and equipment. (Los Angeles Times)
• A California lawmaker urges regulators to finalize a community solar plan, saying it will reduce power bills and reliance on natural gas. (Fresno Bee)