Tribal nation launches solar-over-canal project in Arizona

Editor’s note: We accidentally sent you the U.S. edition of our daily news digests earlier this morning. Here’s the correct newsletter for today. 

SOLAR: The Gila River Indian Community breaks ground on a 1 MW solar array that will cover 1,000 feet of an irrigation canal in Arizona, potentially saving 65 million gallons of water per year through avoided evaporation. (AZ Mirror)

ALSO:

• California regulators amend their proposal to slash rooftop solar credits for multimeter properties in advance of a decision this week, but industry backers say it would still make solar unaffordable for schools and apartment-dwellers. (Solar Power World)
• A Colorado oil and gas operator plans to install a 10 MW solar array to power compressor stations and other facilities. (Daily Sentinel)

UTILITIES:

• Hawaiian Electric plans to provide up to $75 million to a state fund for compensating Maui wildfire victims. (Utility Dive)
• Xcel Energy Colorado plans to install cameras along its lines that use artificial intelligence to detect wildfires. (Greeley Tribune)
• Pacific Gas & Electric lobbies California regulators to approve its proposed rate hike to fund wildfire hazard mitigation and improve its credit rating. (Mercury News)

ELECTRIFICATION: Oregon advocates call on Portland to ban gasoline-powered leaf blowers, saying they are annoying and emit greenhouse gasses and other pollutants. (Oregonian)

OIL & GAS:

• The Biden administration declines to back a petition challenging a court’s rejection of federal approvals for a proposed Utah oil train. (Colorado Newsline)
• Alaska lawmakers accuse Hilcorp of harming state economic growth by using its ​“monopoly position” in the Cook Inlet to restrict natural gas supplies and drive up prices. (Alaska Beacon)
• The California oil and gas industry spends more on lobbying than any other sector as the state passes new climate laws and clamps down on drilling. (CalMatters)

CARBON CAPTURE: Wyoming lawmakers consider giving coal power plants more time to comply with a law requiring them to consider installing carbon capture equipment rather than shutting down. (WyoFile)

TRANSMISSION: California’s grid operator seeks approval of a proposed transmission line allowing it to tap into Idaho wind power. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CRITICAL MATERIALS: NASA uses a modified U-2 spy plane to search for critical mineral deposits in the southwestern U.S. (Simple Flying)

PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming is poised to sue the federal Bureau of Land Management over a proposed land use plan that would restrict energy development in the southwestern part of the state. (KDVRCowboy State Daily)

EFFICIENCY: Colorado researchers look to develop less energy-intensive water desalination and purification methods. (news release)

GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management offers leases on 135,000 acres in Nevada for geothermal development. (Nevada Current)

CLIMATE: Montana advocates predict climate change and its effects could cost the state’s outdoor recreation economy more than $260 million by 2050. (Montana Public Radio)

COMMENTARY: A California editorial board urges Los Angeles officials to use a major freeway closure as the impetus to improve the city’s public transit. (Los Angeles Times)