Grand Canyon-area uranium mine to restart

URANIUM: The operators of a controversial uranium mine near the Grand Canyon begin staffing up to bring the idled facility back into production for the first time in 30 years. (Arizona Daily Sun) 

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Energy Department is expected to announce Tuesday that California researchers have produced a fusion reaction with a net energy gain, a major breakthrough. (Washington Post)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators create a working group to craft rules that would address the cumulative impacts of oil and gas drilling. (Colorado Sun)
• A California oil and gas company whose well blew out and severely injured a worker this month resisted regulators’ orders in April to cap the well because it was dangerous. (Bakersfield Californian)
• Los Angeles releases a strategy to mitigate impacts of the city’s oil extraction phaseout plan by providing displaced workers with new jobs and funding well remediation. (Los Angeles Daily News)

UTILITIES: Colorado investigators still haven’t determined whether the Marshall Fire that destroyed 1,000 homes last December was sparked by utility lines, an abandoned coal mine or something else. (CBS Colorado)

GRID:
• California’s grid operator publishes a final proposal for a regional extended day-ahead power market aimed at increasing reliability across the West. (Utility Dive)
• Eleven utilities commit to joining a regional resource adequacy program aimed at ensuring the Western grid has sufficient generating capacity to meet growing power demand. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Heavy snows in northern California damage utility lines, leaving more than 14,000 households without power. (South Tahoe Now) 

SOLAR:
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $2.5 million to universities in Alaska and Arizona $2.5 million to research mingling solar power with crops, known as agrivoltaics. (PV Magazine)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management halts new mining claims and energy leases on 4,400 acres of public land in Arizona while it analyzes two utility-scale solar projects proposed for the parcels. (news release)

HYDROPOWER:
• Federal officials attempt to prolong hydropower generation at Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona by reducing water releases from Lake Powell. (KUNC)
• A Washington city’s officials postpone voting on a resolution opposing Lower Snake River hydropower dam removals to first hear the Spokane Tribe of Indians’ concerns. (Center Square)
• U.S. lawmakers from Alaska and Washington state introduce a bill that would incentivize hydropower dam upgrades and fund obsolete river obstruction removal. (news release)
• An Oregon municipal utility proposes removing a 15.9 MW hydropower dam rather than attempting to repair structural deficiencies. (Register-Guard)

TRANSPORTATION:
• San Diego, California’s transit system sees its highest monthly ridership since March 2020, but numbers are still down from pre-pandemic times. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Los Angeles considers eliminating fares for the county’s public rail and bus system. (Los Angeles Times)
• Analyses find California has the nation’s highest gasoline prices and refiners’ per-gallon profits are the largest on the West Coast. (Los Angeles Times)
• The federal government awards Phoenix, Arizona, $1 million to help extend light rail into the historically underserved southern part of the city. (KTAR)

CLIMATE: After a judge dismisses Utah youths’ lawsuit alleging the state’s fossil fuel policies were harmful, advocates’ lawyers say they will continue to pursue similar litigation in other states. (High Country News)