Congress moves to revoke California’s clean car waiver

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

TRANSPORTATION

• U.S. House Republicans pass resolutions aimed at revoking waivers allowing California to establish stronger-than-federal vehicle emissions rules, but the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate. (Landmark, Sacramento Bee)

• California considers implementing a mileage-based road-use fee to offset declining gasoline tax revenues. (KTLA)

• Tesla reportedly plans to hire more than 1,000 new workers and ramp up electric semi-truck production at its Sparks, Nevada, Gigafactory. (Reno Gazette-Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY

• California lawmakers water down a bill that would limit net-metering compensation for legacy rooftop solar customers to ten years; now it would only apply if owners sell their homes. (Los Angeles Times)

• Observers say the Washington state energy siting council chair’s past work with a lobbying firm that represented clean power developers raises ethics concerns. (Cascade PBS)

• A study finds converting farmland in California’s Central Valley to solar arrays saves water and can generate 25 times more revenue than growing crops. (Grist)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Salt River Project plans to convert the Coronado coal plant in eastern Arizona to run on natural gas by 2030 despite the Trump administration’s recent order aimed at keeping coal facilities operating. (Arizona Republic)

• Environmental advocates sue the U.S. Forest Service over its approval of a proposed natural gas pipeline in northwestern Wyoming, saying it would harm a roadless area. (Jackson Hole News & Guide)

• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon proposes exporting Powder River Basin coal to Asian countries via Gulf Coast ports, but admits the plan is a long-shot. (Cowboy State Daily)

CLIMATE

• Hawaii lawmakers advance legislation that would increase its tourist lodging tax and allocate the revenue to climate change mitigation programs. (Associated Press)

• Nevada advocates accuse NV Energy of misleading consumers by relying on clean energy credits and accounting tricks to inflate its carbon emissions reduction numbers. (Nevada Current)

GRID

• Advocates criticize Bonneville Power Administration’s plan to join SPP’s regional power market, saying that joining California’s market would reduce pressure on the Northwest’s hydropower system and salmon. (Northern Rockies News Service)

• Farmington, New Mexico’s municipal utility plans to join SPP’s day-ahead regional power market, saying it should reduce customer rates. (KOB)

• California’s grid operator says its Western Energy Imbalance Market has saved members $6.99 billion since its 2014 launch. (news release)

HYDROPOWER

• Rural electric cooperatives urge federal lawmakers to block proposed hydroelectric dam breaching in the Northwest to protect fish, saying they provide irreplaceable baseload power and grid balancing services. (Factor This)

UTILITIES

• Southern California Edison’s top executive says the company likely will suffer ​“material losses” related to the deadly Los Angeles-area Eaton Fire, even though investigators have not yet found the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. (Los Angeles Times)

LITHIUM

• The Trump administration considers loaning American Battery Technology $900 million via the U.S. Export-Import bank to support its proposed lithium mine and refinery in Nevada. (Reuters)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Massachusetts advocates urge the governor to preserve EV goals even as automakers and Congress look to dismantle vehicle emission standards the state has adopted, Sarah Shemkus reports.

• Portable, plug-in balcony solar arrays fit perfectly in Germany, but the U.S. needs to make some regulatory changes before they can take off here, Akielly Hu reports for Grist.