Federal judge upholds Biden’s Willow drilling project approval

OIL & GAS: A federal judge deals a defeat to environmental and Indigenous groups by upholding the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska and ruling ConocoPhillips has the right to develop its leases. (Associated Press)

ALSO: U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, an Alaska Democrat, co-sponsors a bill that would restore oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE: The nation’s first direct air carbon capture facility begins operations in Tracy, California. (New York Times)

GRID:

• The federal Bureau of Land Management halts construction on a southern Arizona segment of the SunZia transmission line to allow the agency to consult with affected tribal nations about cultural and environmental impacts. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Federal prosecutors arraign a California man on charges of attacking a Pacific Gas & Electric substation last winter, leaving more than 1,500 households without power. (Bloomberg)

CRITICAL MATERIALS:

• A company backs off plans to extract lithium from the Great Salt Lake in Utah after advocates and lawmakers raise concerns about the project’s potential water consumption. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Researchers discover a deposit of rare earth elements worth as much as $37 billion in a small Wyoming coal mine. (Wall Street Journal)

URANIUM: U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, introduces legislation that would block a new national monument near the Grand Canyon and lift a ban on future uranium mining. (AZ Mirror)

SOLAR:

• New Mexico seeks $250 million in federal funding to develop solar installations for low-income residents. (KRQE)
• A developer proposes a utility-scale solar-plus-storage peaker plant in southern California. (Solar Builder)
• A northern California county considers a proposed community solar project on 25 acres of private land. (Porterville Recorder)

NATURAL GAS: A worker ruptures a natural gas pipeline in Washington state, leaving more than 36,000 customers without the heating and cooking fuel for up to several days. (Lewiston Tribune)

UTILITIES: Advocates call on Montana regulators to revisit their NorthWestern Energy rate hike approval, saying it disproportionately burdens low-income customers. (Billings Gazette)

CLEAN ENERGY: A report finds Xcel Energy’s proposed natural gas peaker plant would cost the utility’s Colorado customers more in the long-term than a portfolio of clean energy resources. (news release)

COAL: BNSF Railway and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. agree to settle a dispute over how much coal the carrier hauls from the company’s Powder River Basin mines. (Trains)

BIOFUELS: A California city considers generating electricity from landfill methane to power an on-site data center. (Superior Telegram)

HYDROGEN: Developers propose a $1 billion hydrogen production facility near Phoenix, Arizona. (BEX)

COMMENTARY: A California journalist lauds the Biden administration’s advancement of 15 clean energy projects on federal lands, but worries permitting delays will keep them from coming to fruition soon enough. (Los Angeles Times)