New Interior rule threatens clean energy on federal lands

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum orders agencies to factor in proposed solar or wind projects’ per-acre energy generating capacity relative to fossil fuels during permitting — a move that could halt new renewables development on federal lands. (Heatmap, news release)

• Los Angeles officials say an effort to stem copper theft by replacing traditional wired streetlights with solar-powered alternatives has been successful so far. (Canary Media)

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis orders state agencies to streamline and accelerate clean energy permitting to allow developers to take advantage of federal tax credits before they expire later this year. (Colorado Newsline, Solar Power World)

• An Orange County, California, nonprofit pushes homeowners to install rooftop solar before federal clean energy tax credits expire at the end of this year. (LAist)

• Burbank Water and Power breaks ground on the California city’s largest solar-plus-storage system over a transit center’s parking lot. (news release)

STORAGE

• Arevon breaks ground on its 300 MW Nighthawk battery energy storage system in Poway, California. (news release)

BUILDINGS

• California advocates say a new law pausing residential building code updates could slow home electrification efforts and hamper progress on climate and clean energy goals. (Canary Media)

GRID

• Xcel Energy files a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Colorado county’s rejection of a 48-mile segment of the utility’s proposed Power Pathway transmission project. (Elbert County News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Advocates criticize the federal Bureau of Land Management for blocking public input on a set of rules relaxing oil and gas drilling restrictions. (Inside Climate News)

• A New Mexico industry group urges state regulators to allow oil and gas operators to discharge some wastewater into waterways just a few months after the state banned the practice. (Albuquerque Journal)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes selling 32 oil and gas leases covering 20,479 acres in New Mexico and Oklahoma in January. (news release)

BIOFUELS

• California advocates sue state regulators over amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that incentivize biogas production, saying it prioritizes dairy industry profits over climate action. (Biofuels Digest)

• A California court orders Phillips 66 to pay biofuel maker Propel Fuels $800 million in damages for stealing trade secrets. (Seeking Alpha)

UTILITIES

• Xcel Energy and Colorado local governments and nonprofits reach a tentative settlement aimed at resolving concerns over the utility’s plan to address mountain communities’ gas supply constraints. (Summit Daily)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• California data show electric vehicles’ market share dropped during the second quarter of the year, mostly due to declining Tesla sales. (E&E News)

GEOTHERMAL

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes selling 13 geothermal leases on 23,000 acres across California later this month. (news release)

HYDROGEN

• California startup Edgecloud Link develops a hydrogen generating system to power data centers that also produces water to cool the servers. (East Bay Times)

CARBON CAPTURE

• California startup Carbon Ridge deploys an exhaust carbon capture system on a petroleum tanker. (Biofuels Digest)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Offshore wind leasing is officially dead under Trump — Clare Fieseler

• EPA moves to defang its own regulatory power — Kathryn Krawczyk