Newsom vetoes geothermal bill

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GEOTHERMAL

• Analysts criticize California Gov. Gavin Newsom for vetoing a bill that would have accelerated geothermal permitting, saying the apparent political play could hamper development of the state’s prime resources. (Canary Media)

• Ormat files a lawsuit seeking to revoke federal endangered species protections for the Dixie Valley toad that affected the firm’s proposed geothermal development in Nevada. (E&E News)

• Mt. Princeton Geothermal sues the Colorado State Land Board for revoking its lease for a proposed energy project in the central part of the state. (Colorado Sun)

DATA CENTERS

• Aligned Data Centers begins constructing a 31 MW battery at its server farm under development in the Pacific Northwest, allowing it to bring the facility online ​“years earlier” than with traditional utility upgrades. (Canary Media)

CLIMATE

• Exxon Mobil files a federal lawsuit challenging California laws requiring the corporation to disclose greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the global use of its products, saying the rules violate the company’s free speech rights. (Los Angeles Times)

• An analysis predicts Oregon will miss its 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by two years, citing growing data center-driven power demand and the end of federal vehicle emissions standards. (OPB)

• Oakland, California, high school students march in support of proposed state legislation that would require corporations to pay to mitigate their climate impacts. (Bay City News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Maxeon plans to move forward with establishing a solar panel assembly and photovoltaic cell manufacturing facility in Albuquerque in spite of unfavorable federal clean energy policies. (Albuquerque Journal)

• A southwest Colorado nonprofit that helps low-income households access solar lays off employees and curtails operations after the Trump administration claws back over $500,000 in federal funding. (Durango Herald)

• The 90 MW Vantage wind facility in Washington state begins sending power to Puget Sound Energy. (KIRO)

• United Natural Foods installs a 6.7 MW rooftop solar array on its Riverside, California, distribution center. (news release)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes auctioning oil and gas leases on 88,000 acres that overlap deer and pronghorn migration corridors in Wyoming, drawing advocates’ pushback. (WyoFile)

• Arizona advocates push back against a proposed refined fuels pipeline from Texas to California, citing safety concerns and saying it would perpetuate fossil fuel consumption. (Arizona Republic)

UTILITIES

• An advocacy group calls on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject Blackstone’s bid to acquire Public Service Company of New Mexico, saying the private equity firm could force the utility’s customers to pay for its data center investments. (news release)

STORAGE

• A Monterey County, California, supervisor proposes a temporary moratorium on new grid-scale battery energy storage projects to allow officials to develop local regulations for the facilities. (Monterey Herald)

TRANSPORTATION

• Colorado transit agency RTD says financial constraints will hamper its ability to complete a proposed Denver-to-Boulder rail line within the next decade. (CPR)

BIOFUELS

• Plug Power plans to develop a facility in Las Vegas to produce aviation fuel and diesel from waste biomass feedstocks. (Biofuels Digest)

GRID

• Unusually strong winds batter utility equipment in the Seattle area, leaving about 150,000 customers without power. (KIRO)

COMMENTARY

• A New Mexico advocate says a proposed 1,200 MW gas plant designed to power the Project Jupiter data center complex under development in the southeastern part of the state would endanger state climate goals. (KRWG)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Why utility regulators need to do more than call​‘balls and strikes’ — Sarah Shemkus

• The complicated reality behind rising power prices — Kathryn Krawczyk