Fire breaks out in massive California battery storage center

STORAGE: A battery fire breaks out at the 400 MW Moss Landing battery energy storage facility — the world’s largest — on the central California coast, prompting officials to shut down a highway and issue a shelter in place order for nearby residents. (CBS Bay Area)

ELECTRIFICATION: California regulators consider banning sales of natural gas furnaces and water heaters after 2030 to fight climate change and protect human health. (Canary Media)

MICROGRIDS: A California produce company installs a solar- and fuel cell-powered microgrid with battery backup to serve a 450,000 square foot processing facility. (Bloomberg)

POLLUTION: Colorado considers tightening emissions rules on transportation and oil and gas facilities after the U.S. EPA deems part of the state a ​“severe” violator of federal air quality standards. (Coloradoan)

TRANSPORTATION: Montana lawmakers propose replacing lost gasoline tax revenues with annual electric vehicle fees and a tax on EV charging stations. (Daily Montanan)

CRITICAL MINERALS: California preemptively bans seabed mining along its coast even though the practice could yield minerals used in electric vehicles and clean energy technology. (San Francisco Chronicle)

SOLAR:
• Developers break ground on a 200 MW solar power facility in southwestern Utah. (St. George News)
• Wyoming lawmakers consider encouraging school districts to use federal infrastructure funds to install solar panels as a money-saving measure.
(Casper Star-Tribune)
• An Arizona real estate firm says it has contracts with developers to construct 16 solar facilities totalling 2,000 MW in the Phoenix area. (AZ Big Media)

NUCLEAR:
• Nevada officials call on the Biden administration to resume a licensing process that would allow them to kill the dormant nuclear waste repository project proposed for Yucca Mountain. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• California startup Oklo relaunches the federal licensing process for its 1.5 MW microreactor after regulators denied the previous application due to lack of information. (Power)
• Montana lawmakers table a proposed nuclear power development advisory council after disagreements over its powers erupt. (Montana Standard)

HYDROPOWER: The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe installs the first of 10 planned hydropower turbines in pipelines that irrigate the tribe’s farm. (Cortez Journal)

COMMENTARY:
• A California columnist says cities must build out public transit and subsidize e-bikes — not just add more electric vehicles to the roads — to avoid becoming ​“traffic-choked dystopias.”(Los Angeles Times)
• A California editorial board opposes a ballot measure that would tax the wealthy to fund electric vehicle incentives, saying it disproportionately benefits a single special interest and relies on an unsustainable funding model. (Los Angeles Times)