Environmentalists set to sue Biden over Willow approval

OIL & GAS: Environmental groups plan to sue the Biden administration over its approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow drilling project in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, saying the decision undermines a commitment to halve greenhouse gasses by 2030. (E&E News)

ALSO:
• Geophysicists say a series of earthquakes in southern Colorado last week likely were triggered by oil and gas wastewater injection. (Colorado Newsline)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $47 million to researchers working to develop technologies to detect, quantify and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. (news release)
• A company decommissions and cleans up a natural gas pipeline in a national preserve in New Mexico. (National Parks Traveler)

BIOFUELS: Hawaii’s Supreme Court won’t consider an appeal of regulators’ 2022 rejection of an agreement to sell power from its wood-burning generation facility. (Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

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NUCLEAR:
• New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would block a company from storing radioactive waste at a proposed facility in the southeastern part of the state. (NM Political Report)
• Alaska regulators seek public input on proposed small nuclear reactor siting rules. (KUAC)
• Records show a Utah uranium mill received 660 metric tons of radioactive material from Estonia last year, sparking concern among the nearby Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of increased contamination risk. (Fox 13)

STORAGE:
• Some northern California residents push back on a proposed 300 MW lithium-ion battery storage facility, citing fire risk and potential impacts to nearby wetlands. (Marin Independent Journal)
• New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would require investor-owned utilities to develop annual energy storage plans. (NM Political Report)

UTILITIES: Public Service Company of New Mexico says its proposed merger with Avangrid would help the utility accelerate its transition to clean energy.
(E&E News)

SOLAR:
• California researchers develop agrivoltaic-friendly, semi-transparent organic solar panels that generate power without blocking light to plants. (electrek)
• New Mexico’s nascent community solar program garners more than 400 proposals to develop facilities totaling 1,700 MW. (Roswell Daily News)

TRANSPORTATION: The nation’s first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial ferry is set to undergo trial runs in San Francisco later this year. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California’s energy commission awards solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors $21 million to help it scale up production of its namesake EV. (electrek)
• Oregon lawmakers introduce a bill that would levy a mileage tax on electric vehicle owners. (KDRV)

COMMENTARY: A California consumer advocate says more transparency in the gasoline and natural gas spot markets would discourage price gouging and keep fuel prices in check. (Los Angeles Times)