Nation’s first wind, solar and battery facility goes online in Oregon

CLEAN ENERGY: The nation’s first utility-scale wind and solar-plus-battery storage power facility, with 350 MW capacity, is commissioned in Oregon. (Associated Press)

ALSO: The Nature Conservancy touts a study that finds restricting renewable energy development from only on unprotected and previously disturbed lands in the western U.S. would cost just 3% more than unconstrained development. (PV Magazine)

SOLAR: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs into law a community renewable energy bill aimed at expanding renters’ and low-income communities’ access to solar power. (PV Magazine)

UTILITIES:
• More than 25% of southern California households can’t afford to pay their utility bills, forcing many to keep their homes at unsafe temperatures during heat waves. (ABC7)
• Stockton, California, joins a community energy authority, allowing residents to source power from 100% renewable resources. (The Record)
• Rocky Mountain Power replaces wood power poles and buries distribution lines in Utah to reduce the risk of equipment sparking wildfires. (KPCW)

GRID:
• Oregon regulators authorize construction of the proposed 290-mile Boardman to Hemingway high-voltage transmission line aimed at reducing grid congestion and enabling clean energy development. (T&D World)
• Alaska researchers develop a method to predict climate change’s impact on renewable power sources, allowing grid operators to determine an optimal energy mix. (news release)

HYDROGEN: A California utility says it has successfully tested a microgrid that uses excess solar power to produce hydrogen that’s then stored for use when solar’s not available. (Hydrogen Central)

NATURAL GAS: Oregon regulators reject a proposal to construct a 415 MW natural gas power plant near the Columbia River. (KPTV)

OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management rescinds the Trump-era authorization of a 5,750-well oil and gas drilling project in Utah’s Uinta Basin to allow the agency to analyze the plan’s climate impacts. (Salt Lake Tribune)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Biden administration approves Wyoming’s plan to use $26.8 million in federal funds to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but denied the state’s requests to allow more than 50 miles between chargers. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A Washington state startup successfully test flies its all-electric commuter airplane prototype. (Spokesman-Review)
• Operators of the world’s deepest open pit mine, located in Utah, plans to switch some of its equipment to electric vehicles on a trial basis. (Deseret News)
• A California city’s transit agency receives $13.6 million in federal funds to transition its bus fleet from diesel to electric. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION: Oregon regulators set a more aggressive timeline for companies to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels imported into the state. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)