Geothermal pioneer enhances its game

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.

GEOTHERMAL

• Energy firm Ormat proposes an enhanced geothermal pilot project at its Desert Peak power facility in Nevada, where it pioneered the technology over two decades ago. (Canary Media)

UTILITIES

• California regulators lower the temperature threshold at which utilities are barred from customer power shutoffs for nonpayment after finding existing rules did ​“not offer sufficient health protection for ratepayers.” (CalMatters)

• Southern California Edison says it has offered more than $750 million so far to compensate victims of the 2025 Los Angeles-area Eaton Fire. (Claims Journal)

FOSSIL FUELS

• U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) and Acoma Pueblo Gov. Charles Riley push back on the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back a Biden-era ban on oil and gas leasing around Chaco Culture National Historical Park, saying the curtailed public comment period and lack of tribal consultation violate federal laws. (Source NM)

• New Mexico regulators propose a methane super-emitter program aimed at curbing large, uncontrolled releases of the greenhouse gas. (news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposal to include seven existing but forfeited oil and gas leases in a January 2027 auction on 2,508 acres in Wyoming. (news release)

DATA CENTERS

• Boulder City, Nevada’s city council pushes back on Townsite Solar 2’s proposal to build a data center, battery storage system, and backup biodiesel generators on a federal Bureau of Land Management parcel rather than an approved solar project. (Nevada Current)

• New Mexico regulators schedule an October public hearing on the contested Project Jupiter data center’s air quality permit for its proposed natural gas-fired fuel cell power facility. (Source NM)

• Utah advocates push back on a U.S. EPA proposal to expedite air quality permits for ​“minor sources,” saying it could lock the public out of data center-related power generation permitting. (Utah News Dispatch)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Farmers in California’s Central Valley begin leasing their land to utility-scale solar developers as dwindling water supplies make agriculture unfeasible. (Los Angeles Times)

• PearlX partners with a southern California housing authority to install a rooftop solar system on a multifamily workforce housing complex in Victorville. (Solar Builder)

GRID

• Xcel Energy continues distribution system undergrounding and grid-hardening projects in the Boulder, Colorado, area. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• Environmental advocates ask a California appeals court to block Controlled Thermal Resources’ proposed lithium extraction operation near the Salton Sea, saying Imperial County failed to adequately analyze the project’s potential impacts on water, air, and cultural resources. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIFICATION

• The Denver Regional Council of Governments launches a $40 million electric heat pump rebate and advisory program as part of an effort to elbow out gas furnaces. (CPR)

COMMENTARY

• A Montana columnist slams Gov. Greg Gianforte’s (R) decision to suspend utility regulator Brad Molnar, saying it is a ploy to appoint a more data center-friendly commissioner. (Daily Montanan)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Clean energy still beats fossil fuels on cost, despite, well, everything — Kathryn Krawczyk

• Massachusetts bill would end a costly gas pipeline repair program — Sarah Shemkus