Fish protections could affect Nevada lithium projects

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

OVERSIGHT

• The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service proposes extending Endangered Species Act protections to the Fish Lake Valley tui chub, potentially affecting proposed geothermal and lithium projects in western Nevada. (Inside Climate News)

POLITICS

• U.S. House Republicans pass President Trump’s budget bill, which would slash clean energy tax credits and roll back regulations on fossil fuel development on federal lands, though it omitted a major sale of public lands in Nevada and Utah and provisions to speed oil and gas drilling in Alaska. (Associated Press, E&E News)

CLIMATE

• U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum dismisses lawmakers’ concerns that the Trump administration’s proposed budget would gut his agency and hamper its ability to fight climate change, saying ​“we have plenty of time” to solve the problem. (Mother Jones)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A Carbon Tracker analysis finds California’s 2024 Orphan Well Prevention Act has successfully reduced transfers of low-producing oil and gas wells and kept large operators from shifting cleanup costs to smaller companies. (news release)

• Northern Arizona residents push back on a proposed natural gas pipeline compressor station adjacent to a rural community, citing elevated fire and explosion risks. (AZ Family)

• A U.S. Geological Survey report identifies significant, technically recoverable oil and gas supplies in a deposit under parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. (news release)

UTILITIES

• Southern California Edison seeks a 10% rate hike even as it faces scrutiny over the role its equipment may have played in sparking the deadly Los Angeles-area Eaton Fire in January. (Los Angeles Times)

• California advocates criticize a Pacific Gas & Electric executive and a special interest group funded by the utility for helping run a San Jose City Council candidate’s campaign. (San Jose Spotlight)

GEOTHERMAL

• Sonoma Clean Power expects its proposed 600 MW GeoZone geothermal plant in northern California to create hundreds of permanent jobs. (Mendocino Voice)

GRID

• The Imperial Irrigation District expects to save about $12 million annually by joining the California grid operator’s energy imbalance and extended day-ahead power markets. (Calexico Chronicle)

• A U.S. Army base in Alaska plans a ​“black start” exercise designed to test its ability to respond to a power grid failure. (KTUU)

SOLAR

• California lawmakers consider a bill that would allow landowners to lease farmland to utility-scale solar developers. (23 ABC)

• Colorado lawmakers pass a gutted version of legislation that would have required counties and municipalities to adopt automated residential solar permitting, but instead only alters grant funding timelines. (PV Magazine)

WIND

• California industry officials say offshore wind development in the state continues to move forward despite the Trump administration’s resistance. (AJOT)

HYDROGEN

• Hawaii Gas plans a pilot project to test Ayrton Energy’s system designed to transport hydrogen at room temperature, saying it could pave the way for statewide use of the fuel. (Fuel Cells Works)

NEW FROM CANARY

• House Republicans’ proposed rollback of two tax credits for weatherization and clean energy installations could prevent homeowners from lowering their energy costs and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, Alison F. Takemura reports.

• Researchers recommend ways states can continue cleaning up heavy industry even as the Trump administration moves to cancel funding for decarbonization projects, Jeff St. John reports.