Lack of funding imperils California virtual power plant program

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.

GRID

• California’s clean energy industry says the state’s Demand Side Grid Support program may be forced to shut down next year after state lawmakers ended funding for the nation’s largest virtual power plant. (Canary Media)

NUCLEAR

• California startup Pacific Fusion plans to build a $1 billion research and manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after the city council approved tax exemptions and other incentives. (Albuquerque Journal)

• The governors of Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah launch an effort aimed at establishing the three states as the epicenter of an expected nuclear energy resurgence. (WyoFile)

UTILITIES

• Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes pushes back on Tucson Electric Power’s proposed 14% rate increase, calling it ​“blatant corporate greed.” (Tucson Sentinel)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Colorado regulators reject Xcel Energy’s proposed coal ash cleanup plan for its Valmont plant near Boulder, saying it fails to meet state health and environmental standards. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

• Advocates call for seven state water board members to be disqualified from voting on proposed oil and gas wastewater regulations, alleging the governor’s office unduly influenced the rulemaking. (Source NM)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management advances its environmental review of 195 litigated oil and gas leases in Utah to comply with court orders and settlement agreements. (news release)

• Colorado officials say summer wildfires damaged utility lines leading to the Piceance Basin in the western part of the state, jeopardizing operations and fuel production. (Colorado Sun)

• California regulators consider requiring oil refineries to keep extra fuel on hand when they go offline as part of an effort to tackle gasoline price volatility. (E&E News)

POLLUTION

• An agricultural waste-burning power plant in southern California’s Coachella Valley is poised to shut down after the U.S. EPA found it has emitted illegal levels of mercury and other pollutants. (Desert Sun)

• Colorado advocates accuse state regulators of entering into a ​“dirty” ​“backroom” deal with the Suncor oil refinery that allows the facility to discharge benzene and other pollutants into a Denver-area stream. (Colorado Sun)

STORAGE

• Peak Energy says it has successfully deployed and is operating the nation’s first grid-scale sodium-ion battery system at a renewable energy test facility in Colorado. (PV Magazine)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A California resident says his rooftop solar-plus-battery-storage system saves him about $3,600 annually in power costs and keeps the lights on during outages. (New York Times)

DATA CENTERS

• California lawmakers pass diluted bills requiring data centers to disclose their water use, but not necessarily make it public, and guiding regulators to see if utility customers are shouldering the facilities’ infrastructure costs. (Los Angeles Times)

COMMENTARY

• A columnist says a growing number of power-hungry data centers highlight the need for liberalized electricity markets and a Westwide regional transmission organization. (Complex Effects)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Carrier wants to pair batteries with air conditioners to help the grid — Julian Spector

• Why states are threatening to leave PJM — and why they probably won’t — Kathryn Krawczyk