Los Angeles ups climate goals in lead-up to 2028 Olympics

CLIMATE: Los Angeles region governments and nonprofits develop a climate roadmap calling for ambitious emissions reductions and investment in clean energy leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games. (Los Angeles Times)

OIL & GAS: 

• Xcel Energy says it must double its grid capacity in the Permian Basin to meet anticipated demand from oil and gas industry electrification and a growing population. (Carlsbad Current-Argus, subscription)
• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposes subsidizing drilling and taking other unspecified measures to fend off a predicted natural gas shortage. (Alaska Beacon)
• Wyoming officials credit high natural gas prices for generating $177 million more in fiscal year tax revenues than predicted. (WyoFile)

WIND:

• The federal Bureau of Land Management backs away from its approval of a proposed wind power-carrying transmission line in Wyoming to further evaluate its impacts. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A northern California county launches a $100,000 media campaign against a proposed wind power facility. (Record-Searchlight)

BATTERIES:

• A company breaks ground on a $1.2 billion battery manufacturing facility in an underserved neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona. (AZPM)
• LG Energy ramps up battery cell production at its Arizona manufacturing facility to meet rising demand, primarily from Tesla. (Electrive)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a proposed solar-powered mine in Nevada for extracting vanadium, a material used in batteries. (KOLO)

HYDROPOWER: Federal officials say states’ voluntary efforts to slash water consumption from the Colorado River are adequate to maintain hydropower generation from Glen Canyon Dam in the near term. (Associated Press)

COAL: Tribal nations call for a meeting with the U.S. and Canadian governments to address cross-border selenium water contamination from coal mines. (Missoulian)

METHANE: Advocates find four Oregon and Washington landfills violated federal law last year by failing to mitigate dangerously high levels of methane emissions. (Grist)

EFFICIENCY: An Oregon researcher uses his own home as a laboratory for testing efficiency measures such as heat pumps, energy-saving appliances and enhanced insulation. (Oregonian)

MICROGRIDS: A western Colorado electric cooperative considers installing a solar-powered microgrid in a remote, high-mountain community to reduce avalanche-caused outages. (Telluride Daily Planet)

UTILITIES:

• Oregon regulators approve natural gas utility Avista’s agreement to reduce rates and cease having ratepayers fund political and lobbying activities. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• A Colorado’s court orders Xcel Energy to pay the state’s largest electric cooperative $26.5 million for breach of contract and mismanaging a coal power plant. (Colorado Sun)
• A southern California city transitions away from a community power authority, leading to reduced utility rates and lower levels of clean energy on the grid. (Orange County Register)
• Federal regulators fine an independent power producer $6 million for failing to fulfill resource adequacy obligations at its 12 power plants in southern California. (RTO Insider, subscription)

COMMENTARY: Montana ranchers call on federal regulators to block recently passed coal-friendly state laws, saying they would be disastrous for landowners and mining communities. (Helana Independent Record)