Montana utility seeks bigger stake in Colstrip coal plant

COAL: Montana advocates push back on NorthWestern Energy’s plan to acquire a larger stake of the Colstrip coal plant from a Washington-based utility, saying the aging facility is unreliable and will need about $2 billion in pollution control upgrades to continue operating beyond 2032. (Montana Free Press)

SOLAR: California’s grid operator says smoke from dozens of wildfires burning across the West is diminishing solar output this summer even as high temperatures drive up demand. (Reuters)

BATTERIES:

• California awards a municipal utility $10 million to help develop a 3.6 MW iron flow long-duration battery energy storage system. (PV Magazine)
• Federal regulators approve the California grid operator’s proposal to raise battery energy storage system capacity bid caps. (RTO Insider, subscription)

GRID:

• An Arizona utility says its virtual power plant consisting of smart thermostats, demand response efforts and distributed battery storage helped it weather extreme heat-driven demand spikes last summer. (Power)
• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signs a bill consolidating management of the Railbelt region’s transmission system and open access to independent energy producers such as solar and wind facilities. (Alaska Beacon)
• Federal regulators find deficiencies in SPP’s tariff for its proposed regional day-ahead power market, hampering progress on the plan. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CLIMATE:

• Colorado’s Supreme Court considers hearing a city’s lawsuit looking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change-related damages. (E&E News, subscription)
• A report by a former California official finds the state’s energy transition is constrained by lack of a clear plan to balance out increasing solar output after the sun goes down. (E&E News, subscription)

OIL & GAS: 

• Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signs a bill aimed at addressing a looming natural gas shortage in the Cook Inlet by allocating funds to finance drilling projects and streamlining geothermal project permitting. (Alaska Beacon)
• A satellite-aided study finds oil and gas-related methane emissions are four times higher than U.S. EPA estimates and the Permian Basin is the nation’s top emitter of the greenhouse gas. (news release)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico uses AI and metal-detecting drones to search for abandoned oil and gas wells. (KOB 4)

UTILITIES: Hawaii Gov. Josh Green expects a host of lawsuits against a utility and other entities over last year’s deadly Maui wildfires to be settled later this month. (Associated Press)

URANIUM: Arizona’s attorney general backs the Navajo Nation in its push to block uranium ore shipments across tribal lands and criticizes the mining company for its lack of transparency and inadequate emergency planning. (news release)