Nation’s first irrigation canal solar array nears completion in Arizona

SOLAR: The Gila River Indian Community nears completion of a 1.3 MW solar installation over an irrigation canal in central Arizona. (Canary Media)

ALSO:

• A western Colorado county is poised to approve a ban on large-scale energy developments, including a contested proposed 100 MW solar-plus-storage facility. (Colorado Sun)
• A northeastern Colorado utility prepares to break ground on a 150 MW solar installation after supply chain constraints and tariffs delayed construction for three years. (BizWest)
• A Wyoming county and developer reach a road-maintenance cost-sharing agreement that clears the way for a planned 771 MW solar installation in the southeastern part of the state. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A developer proposes a 600 MW solar project on 2,900 acres of federal land in central Nevada. (news release)
• The Biden administration awards a Colorado farm $713,000 to install a solar array over one of its peach orchards. (Daily Sentinel)
• A northern California county approves a proposed 4 MW solar installation on fallow farmland. (Mendofever)

CARBON CAPTURE: A company proposes sequestering captured carbon under 605,000 acres of mostly federal land in southwestern Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)

CLIMATE:

• An Oregon county advances a lawsuit looking to hold petroleum companies liable for damage and harm inflicted by a 2021 extreme heat event. (Inside Climate News)
• Montana’s Supreme Court set to hear arguments in an appeal of a judge’s finding that the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies violate residents’ constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment. (Daily Montanan)
• Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declares an extreme heat emergency, saying prolonged high temperatures endanger health and strain the power grid. (KOIN)

UTILITIES: Hawaiian Electric plans to retire 88 MW of fossil fuel generation by 2030, citing aging facilities and tightening environmental regulations. (Maui Now)

GRID:

• California’s grid operator says the state needs more transmission capacity to help it manage the deepening ​“solar duck curve.” (NBC News)
• California lawmakers withdraw a bill’s provisions aimed at encouraging clean energy development by expediting transmission permitting following environmentalists’ opposition. (CalMatters)
• A nonprofit and utilities race to bring electricity to some 13,000 off-grid Navajo Nation homes to power air-conditioners as climate change-exacerbated heat waves become more frequent. (CNN)
• Arizona regulators seek public input on a contested proposed transmission line through midtown Tucson. (Arizona Daily Star)

HYDROPOWER: California’s grid operator declares its first transmission emergency of the summer after a wildfire forces a key hydropower facility offline. (RTO Insider, subscription)

OIL & GAS: 

• Alaska files a lawsuit against the U.S. Interior Department seeking compensation for revenue allegedly lost after the administration canceled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (E&E News, subscription)
• New Mexico and federal regulators detect elevated volatile organic compound emissions at 60% of the Permian Basin oil and gas facilities they inspected. (news release)
• Colorado’s petroleum industry celebrates climbing crude oil production following a pandemic-era downturn. (CPR)

COMMENTARY: A New Mexico advocate says state energy transition funding for a solar-powered irrigation pump for Indigenous farmers is ​“paving the way for a brighter future.” (Santa Fe New Mexican)