General Motors forks out $625 million for Nevada lithium mine

BATTERIES: General Motors pledges $625 million to help fund the contested Thacker Pass lithium mine under development in Nevada in an effort to boost battery material’s domestic supplies. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

ALSO:

• A California startup plans to build a $1 billion lithium-sulfur battery factory in northern Nevada, adding to the state’s ​“lithium loop.” (Reno Gazette Journal)
• A developer proposes a 400 MW battery energy storage system in California’s Bay Area. (PV Magazine)
• California’s battery energy storage capacity hits 13,391 MW, one quarter of the way to the state’s goal of 52 GW by 2045. (RTO Insider, subscription) 

OIL & GAS: 

• Phillips 66 says ​“market dynamics” prompted plans to shutter its Los Angeles-area refinery that supplies 8% of the state’s gasoline next year and replace its output with biofuels from its San Francisco Bay-area complex. (Los Angeles Times)
• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy looks to lure data centers to the state, saying their high electricity demand would strengthen the case for a proposed multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. (Northern Journal)

BIOFUELS: The U.S. Energy Department tentatively awards a Montana biodiesel refinery $1.44 billion in loan guarantees to produce sustainable aviation fuels from leftover animal fats and greases. (Canary Media)

UTILITIES: Xcel Energy submits its just transition plan to Colorado regulators proposing to replace closing coal plants and meet increasing demand with a mix of new wind, solar, geothermal and gas generators, battery storage and a nuclear reactor. (CPR)

CLIMATE: Legal experts say a 2019 court ruling would probably shield California’s and Washington’s carbon markets from a potential Trump administration’s likely challenges. (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE:

• Wyoming’s energy agency asks the governor to allocate $7.8 million in taxpayer funds to help a utility comply with a state law requiring it to study carbon capture technology for aging coal plants. (WyoFile)
• A Colorado startup begins developing a demonstration plant in New York designed to recycle discarded gypsum and pull carbon dioxide from the air. (Canary Media)

WIND: A Bill Gates-backed startup says it has secured $14 million for a proposed wind facility in Wyoming that would use the firm’s horizontal-axis turbines. (Power)

GRID: The Bonneville Power Administration proposes spending about $3 billion on 13 transmission and substation projects designed to bolster its grid to accommodate increasing renewables and growing power demand. (Idaho Capital Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Pacific Gas & Electric launches a bidirectional electric vehicle charging program compensating customers for discharging EV batteries back to the grid during high demand. (PV Magazine)

HYDROGEN: A southern California transit agency opens a liquid hydrogen-based fueling station for its bus fleet. (news release)

COAL: Colorado officials launch an effort to extinguish underground coal seam fires in an abandoned mine near Boulder. (CBS News Colorado)

COMMENTARY: A California energy executive calls on local governments to comply with a state law requiring instant residential solar permitting and to force homeowners associations to eliminate red tape for rooftop installations. (Fresno Bee)