Engage with tribes early, analysts urge clean energy developers

CLEAN ENERGY: Analysts and advocates urge clean energy developers to consult with tribal nations early in the planning phase and earn their support rather than risk expensive legal challenges later in the process. (Grist)

CLIMATE: Proposals to mitigate the effects of climate change with solar geoengineering could infringe on tribal nations’ sovereignty, Indigenous advocates say. (High Country News)

SOLAR:

• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would tweak a state decision reducing net-metering compensation for rooftop solar. (E&E News, subscription)
• Colorado researchers find damage from severe weather can permanently reduce solar panels’ energy output. (Utility Dive)

WIND: Oregon lawmakers call on federal agencies to address their concerns about proposed offshore wind development along the state’s southern coast. (Cannon Beach Gazette)

COAL: Utah lawmakers advance a bill aimed at keeping a coal plant running long after its scheduled retirement date, even if it means taxpayers end up purchasing the 40-year-old facility. (Salt Lake Tribune)

POLITICS: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill into law aimed at allowing the state to sidestep federal regulations it deems objectionable, such as the U.S. EPA’s ​“good neighbor” ozone pollution reduction rule. (Deseret News)

OIL & GAS: 

• A coalition of Utah counties seeks $750,000 in state funds to take its fight to build a Uinta Basin oil railway to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• California’s petroleum czar proposes increasing fuel-market transparency and imposing minimum gasoline storage requirements on refiners to keep prices stable. (Sacramento Bee)
• The U.S. EPA blocks state operating permits for four large oil and gas wells in northeastern Colorado, saying regulators failed to ensure the facilities would comply with federal air pollution rules. (news release)

GRID: Unusually extreme cold grips south-central Alaska, straining natural gas supplies and leaving thousands of households without power. (Anchorage Daily News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Tesla agrees to pay a $1.5 million fine to settle a California lawsuit accusing Tesla of illegally dumping hazardous waste from its Fremont factory and Bay Area auto service centers. (Fresno Bee)
• Data show California electric vehicle sales hit a record-high last year, but the pace of growth appears to be slowing. (CalMatters)
• An Oregon school district receives $20 million in federal funding to replace 50 of its 225 buses with electric vehicles. (KOIN)

COMMENTARY:

• A California journalist finds the Biden administration’s proposal to open 22 million acres of federal land to solar development somewhat scary — but far less so than climate change’s effects. (Los Angeles Times)
• A California advocate argues that a proposed income-based, fixed-price utility rate structure ​“aligns with our state’s values of social justice, equity and fairness.” (San Diego Union-Tribune)