Feds deny axing Esmeralda solar project in Nevada

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• Federal Bureau of Land Management officials dispute reports that the agency canceled the Esmeralda 7 solar complex in Nevada, saying they would review each of the seven projects individually instead of as an integrated facility. (Nevada Independent)

• California’s Energy Commission authorizes $42.75 million in grants for offshore wind port development after the Trump administration pulls $427 million in federal funding for a facility in the northern part of the state. (Utility Dive)

• Colorado electric cooperative United Power agrees to purchase power from the 200 MW Fortress solar-plus-storage facility under development in the southeast corner of the state. (Big Pivots)

• A northeastern Colorado toll road brings two new solar arrays online to provide about 75% of its operation’s total power demand. (Times-Call)

• Southwest Colorado residents and advocates petition Montezuma County to end its moratorium on utility-scale solar projects, touting the economic and environmental benefits of the facilities. (Cortez Journal)

GRID

• Utilities, advocates, and grid operators move forward with a plan to establish a West-wide transmission organization and day-ahead power market after a new California law opens the door to regional governance. (Stateline)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A California judge tentatively rules against Sable Offshore’s plans to restart oil rigs off the state’s coast, saying the firm failed to prove regulators had abused their discretion even as the Trump administration comes out in support of the project. (Reuters, Associated Press)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction oil and gas leases on 50,000 acres in Colorado in December. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Democratic advocate Clara Pratte launches a run to become the first Navajo Nation citizen on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)

• Arizona’s summer ban on utility shutoffs for nonpayment ends for the season, leaving some residents scrambling to pay overdue bills. (AZFamily)

HYDROPOWER

• Advocates and the state of Oregon seek a court injunction that would force federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River to spill more water to benefit fish, but it would also diminish power generation. (OPB)

GEOTHERMAL

• Rodatherm resumes construction on its closed-loop geothermal power facility in western Utah. (St. George News)

DATA CENTERS

• Prometheus Hyperscale’s CEO says the firm’s planned natural gas-powered data center in Wyoming will achieve ​“sustainability” by offsetting its emissions and using efficient technology, but advocates are skeptical. (CPR)

NUCLEAR

• Radiant cancels plans to build a nuclear microreactor manufacturing facility in Bar Nunn, Wyoming, citing the state’s decades-long ban on storing radioactive waste. (WyoFile)

EFFICIENCY

• A WalletHub analysis ranks Utah seventh in the nation for overall energy efficiency. (Deseret News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Inside the Colorado factory where AtmosZero is electrifying steam — Alison F. Takemura

• Ohio to fast-track energy at former coal mines and brownfields — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• Canceled solar megaproject reveals new Trump-era threat to renewables — Julian Spector

• Can farmland thrive with solar? This Virginia nonprofit is finding out. — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Boston is piloting window heat pumps in affordable housing — Alison F. Takemura