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Crowdsourcing to ease the data center power crunch

By Jonathan P. Thompson

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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.

DATA CENTERS

  • California virtual power plant operator Voltus launches a ​“bring your own capacity” program that encourages data center operators to pay other utility customers to reduce power use during peak demand to lessen grid strain without disrupting the facilities’ operations. (Canary Media)

CLEAN ENERGY

  • A Colorado Energy Office report finds that some county’s land-use regulations are hampering wind and solar development, which adversely affects local economies, ratepayers, and the state’s climate efforts. (Colorado Sun)

  • U.S. Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, says he has ​“concerns” about the Trump administration canceling $7.5 billion in federal funding for clean energy projects, saying ​“we need every electron we can get.” (Utah News Dispatch)

STORAGE

  • California’s energy storage industry welcomes a new state law aimed at preventing grid-scale battery installation fires, saying it will enhance safety but not slow development. (Canary Media)

TRANSITION

  • An energy think tank urges Colorado officials to replace generation from retiring coal plants with wind and solar rather than gas plants with carbon capture or nuclear reactors, saying renewables are more cost-effective and quicker to develop. (Gasworld)

FOSSIL FUELS

  • An investigation finds oil and gas companies in Colorado used toxic chemicals banned by state law in hydraulic fracturing operations over the last 18 months. (Capital & Main)

  • The Trump administration plans to open the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain to oil and gas leasing later this month. (E&E News)

  • Taft, California, residents and officials hope the Trump administration’s fossil fuel-friendly policies will revive the struggling oilfield town. (France24)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  • Wyoming’s transportation department begins collecting fuel tax and licensing fees from public electric vehicle chargers in accordance with a new state law. (Oil City News)

UTILITIES

  • California advocates say a provision in a new state law aimed at reducing energy bills but that also allows Southern California Edison shift Eaton fire costs to customers is ​“effectively a bailout” for the utility. (Los Angeles Times)

  • Montana utility regulators spar over a proposed rate case settlement with NorthWestern Energy related to its new gas plant in Laurel. (Daily Montanan)

GEOTHERMAL

  • Colorado’s Energy Office awards $7.3 million to help fund four geothermal heating and cooling projects across the state. (ColoradoBiz)

TRANSPORTATION

  • California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri plans to ask state lawmakers for more funding, saying the $1 billion allocated to the project from the state’s emissions program this year was a ​“down payment.” (E&E News)

  • Oregon advocates say restoring a Portland-to-Salt Lake City passenger rail line would bring economic opportunity to rural towns in the Northwest. (Washington State Standard)

CLIMATE

  • California’s Air Resources Board delays initial rulemaking for a set of new state laws requiring large firms to report greenhouse gas emissions annually after receiving a ​“large volume of public comments.” (Utility Dive)

NUCLEAR

  • California startup Oklo partners with a Swedish firm to develop advanced nuclear reactor fuel fabrication and manufacturing infrastructure in the U.S. (World Nuclear News)

COMMENTARY

  • A Colorado advocate slams the Trump administration’s contradictory policies opening pristine lands in the state to coal leasing while axing funding for carbon capture projects in New Mexico. (Durango Herald)

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