DOJ says president can eliminate national monuments

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PUBLIC LANDS

• The U.S. Justice Department finds the 1906 Antiquities Act authorizes the president to alter or eliminate national monuments designated under the law, opening the door for the Trump administration to reverse bans on drilling, mining, and other energy development on millions of acres of Western lands. (Landmark, Bloomberg Law)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• President Donald Trump plans to sign three resolutions revoking California’s vehicle emissions standards tomorrow. (Politico)

SOLAR

• Unfavorable policy shifts in California are among reasons why solar installer Sunnova and lender Solar Mosaic filed for bankruptcy in the past week. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Southern California regulators reject rules to encourage adoption of electric heat pumps and water heaters, and which would’ve helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the smog-plagued area. (Canary Media)

POLITICS

• U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, says voters will hold Republicans accountable if their ​“Big, Beautiful Bill” leads to higher energy prices as expected. (Politico)

• Arizona GOP lawmakers target two Republican utility regulators’ seats in the next primary election, saying they defied the Trump administration’s order aimed at keeping the defunct Cholla coal plant operating. (Arizona Daily Star)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Developers of the proposed Uinta oil-hauling railway in Utah vote to seek $2.4 billion in federal bonds to finance the $3.8 billion project. (Colorado Sun)

• A federal judge allows environmental advocates to defend a Biden-era ban on new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin from a Wyoming and Montana lawsuit. (Cowboy State Daily)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management applies the Trump administration’s accelerated 14-day ​“emergency” environmental review process to the proposed natural gas pipeline running from Helena to Three Forks in Montana. (news release)

UTILITIES

• Montana advocates push back against NorthWestern Energy’s proposed rate hike, saying the utility’s continued reliance on fossil fuels ​“ignores climate-related costs and risks.” (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

• Oregon regulators activate a summer ban on utility shutoffs for nonpayment in an effort to protect low-income customers from extreme heat. (Oregonian)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A western Colorado county keeps a moratorium on new solar installations in place while it considers proposed regulations for the projects. (Aspen Public Radio)

• AES completes construction on the first phase of its 2,000 MW Bellefield solar-plus-storage project in southern California designed to power Amazon data centers. (news release)

HYDROPOWER

• A Hawaii lawmaker tentatively proposes a pumped hydropower storage facility on Kohala Mountain. (Hawai’i Public Radio)

GRID

• An analytics firm finds Northwest grid operators could expedite solar and wind interconnections by replacing long-term firm transmission contracts with flexible allocation. (PV Magazine)

GEOTHERMAL

• Fervo Energy says its new 15,765-foot well at its Cape Station facility in Utah ​“demonstrates the rapid advancement and scalability of enhanced geothermal systems.” (news release)

BATTERIES

• Oregon battery manufacturing firm Powin files for bankruptcy, citing struggles with tariffs and clean energy tax credit uncertainty. (Renewables Now)

NEW FROM CANARY

• A new survey finds support for renewable energy has fallen among both Republicans and Democrats over the last five years, while backing for expanding fossil fuels and nuclear production has grown, Pam Radtke reports.