Federal court blocks bid to halt SunZia transmission project

TRANSMISSION: A federal judge rejects tribal nations’ and advocates’ bid to halt work on a segment of the SunZia transmission project in a culturally and ecologically significant part of southern Arizona. (Associated Press)

MINING:

• Advocates push back on the federal Bureau of Land Management’s plan to approve a slightly scaled-back version of the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, saying it will not adequately protect an endangered wildflower’s habitat. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• The Biden administration is expected to reject the proposed 211-mile Ambler industrial road through northwestern Alaska wilderness that would access a copper deposit under ecologically sensitive land. (New York Times)
• Wyoming officials predict tightening global supplies and rising prices of nuclear fuel will revitalize the state’s near-dormant uranium mining industry. (Cowboy State Daily)

OIL & GAS: 

• Federal regulators greenlight a controversial proposed natural gas pipeline expansion in the Northwest after Republican federal lawmakers from Idaho push the project. (E&E News, subscription)
• Oregon regulators seek public input on a proposal to renew a controversial Portland-area fuel storage terminal’s air quality permit. (OPB)

CLIMATE:

• Oregon regulators issue air quality permits to Intel’s microchip factories while reprimanding the tech firm for understating its 2022 carbon emissions. (Oregonian, subscription)
• A Colorado entrepreneur looks to tackle climate change by capturing a shuttered coal mine’s methane emissions and using them to fuel a brick and tile-baking kiln. (CPR)

WIND: A Colorado electric cooperative and wholesale power supplier agree to purchase the full output of a 200 MW wind facility in the eastern part of the state. (news release)

UTILITIES:

• Colorado regulators seek public input on Xcel Energy’s planned outage aimed at reducing wildfire hazards earlier this month. (Denver 7)
• A utility executive predicts California will continue to rely on natural gas-generated electricity for at least two more decades as it transitions to cleaner energy sources. (Reuters)
• More than 40 utilities participate in a program aimed at connecting Navajo Nation homes to the power grid. (Navajo Times)

COAL:

• Montana advocates file a lawsuit alleging the state’s justice department illegally withheld documents relating to pollution from a Canada coal mine that crosses the border into the state. (Daily Montanan)
• New Mexico receives $2.8 million in federal funds to reclaim abandoned coal mines. (KRQE)

GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to exempt some geothermal exploration projects from environmental reviews to expedite development. (E&E News, subscription; news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Arizona community college launches an electric vehicle technician training course. (news release)

COMMENTARY: Nevada advocates urge the federal Bureau of Land Management to push utility-scale solar projects toward low-conflict, previously disturbed public lands. (Nevada Independent)