Feds greenlight downsized Lava Ridge wind facility in Idaho

WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a downscaled version of the proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho amid lawmakers’ and advocates’ concerns about its impact to rural communities and a World War II Japanese American incarceration site. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:

• California advocates say state policies limiting incentives have hampered community solar development. (Bloomberg)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the proposed 390 MW Easley solar-plus-storage project in southern California. (news release)

OIL & GAS: 

• New Mexico regulators fine a Permian Basin natural gas processing facility $47.8 million — the largest such penalty in state history if upheld — for allegedly violating its permit by emitting excess greenhouse gases and health-harming and ozone-forming pollution. (Associated Press)
• Oregon regulators fine a Portland fossil fuel storage facility $372,600 for allegedly operating without a permit. (KOIN)
• Mayors in southcentral Alaska urge utilities to address a looming natural gas shortfall quickly, saying its effects could be felt as soon as this winter. (Alaska Public Media)

OVERSIGHT: Analysts say the outcome of a Utah oil-hauling railway case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week could curtail a landmark federal environmental law. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIFICATION:

• California advocates and lawmakers aim to hasten the closure of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility that leaked catastrophically in 2015 by incentivizing local residents to switch to electric appliances. (Los Angeles Times)
• Washington’s building industry files a lawsuit seeking to force the state to adjust building codes to comply with a ballot measure blocking bans or restrictions on natural gas use in homes and businesses. (Center Square)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California prepares to launch its electric bicycle incentive program for lower-income residents, but some advocates say there should be more than 1,500 vouchers available. (Electrek)

TRANSPORTATION: Colorado’s largest public transit agency breaks ground on bus rapid transit projects in the Denver area as a lower-cost alternative to new commuter or light rail lines. (Colorado Sun)

GRID: NV Energy proposes a rate increase to pay for its Greenlink West and North transmission projects, saying the projected construction cost has doubled to more than $4.2 billion. (Nevada Independent)

CLEAN ENERGY: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says an influx of federal funding and private investments are making the state a clean energy generation and manufacturing powerhouse. (Albuquerque Journal)

COAL: Residents of the Black Mesa area on the Navajo Nation create a nonprofit aimed at bringing a just transition to communities in the historic coal mining region. (Arizona Republic)

UTILITIES: Avangrid asks the New Mexico Supreme Court to vacate regulators’ order blocking its proposed merger with the state’s largest utility. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada columnist urges lawmakers to consider data centers’ rapid growth in the state and address their high energy and water consumption. (Nevada Independent)