Judge suspends federal oil leases in Alaska for endangered whale

OIL & GAS: A judge suspends federal oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Cook Inlet after finding the Interior Department failed to adequately consider drilling’s impacts to endangered beluga whales. (Alaska Public Media)

ALSO:

• New Mexico advocates say funding and staffing shortfalls hamper regulators’ ability to enforce state oil and gas rules, allowing industry to fall out of compliance without consequence. (Capital & Main)
• Federal lawmakers from New Mexico and California call on the Biden administration to finalize rules aimed at reducing methane emissions from natural gas pipelines. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz team up to install fast electric vehicle chargers at 100 locations along Interstate 5 on the West Coast. (Los Angeles Times)

STORAGE: A California county begins establishing siting standards for new grid-scale battery energy storage systems following fires at two San Diego-area facilities. (San Diego Union-Tribune) 

UTILITIES: Xcel Energy delays implementing its Colorado-mandated clean energy plan over supply chain constraints and uncertainty over tariffs, raising fears its $12 billion price tag will grow. (Colorado Sun)

SOLAR:

• Navajo Nation leaders look to streamline the federal and tribal land-use permitting process to expedite solar installations on off-grid homes. (ABC 15)
• A developer brings a 200 MW solar-plus-battery storage installation online in central California. (Solar Builder)

HYDROGEN: The Biden administration allocates $30 million to California to help plan and design a regional hydrogen production and distribution hub. (Associated Press)

COAL:

• Canada regulators charge a coal mine with violating fisheries laws by discharging selenium into waterways that cross the border into Montana. (Flathead Beacon)
• Wyoming hires a second law firm to help it challenge Biden administration coal regulations. (Cowboy State Daily)

MINING:

• Advocates push back against a raft of federal subsidies for proposed lithium extraction projects in Western states, saying they could deplete already sparse water supplies in arid areas. (Floodlight)
• Arizona advocates deliver a 17,500-signature petition calling on the state to block operations at and shipments from a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. (Inside Climate News)

GRID: California’s grid operator says its ability to send power to neighboring states to help them weather a July heat wave demonstrates the system’s resilience as it transitions to 100% clean energy. (E&E News, subscription)

CLIMATE:

• A California poll finds 59% of respondents support a $10 billion state measure on November’s ballot to fund climate change mitigation programs. (Mercury News)
• Data show Denver’s tree-shaded neighborhoods are as much as nine degrees cooler than treeless ones, prompting officials to seek federal funding for heat-mitigation efforts. (Colorado Sun)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming residents worry about and support an advanced nuclear reactor proposed for a coal town in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada journalist explores the benefits and challenges of installing solar arrays over irrigation canals to generate power and reduce evaporation. (Western Water Notes)