Northwest tribes push back against ​“green colonialism”

CLEAN ENERGY: Northwest tribal leaders push back against a raft of proposed clean energy developments, saying they threaten cultural property and represent a new wave of ​“green colonialism.” (High Country News)

ALSO:
• Alaska energy analysts look to develop renewable energy and increase efficiency to offset a predicted natural gas shortfall in the Kenai Peninsula as soon as 2027. (KBBI)
• California energy agencies and tribal nations plan to meet to discuss clean energy development. (news release)

SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on its plans to encourage utility-scale solar development on public lands in Montana. (Montana Free Press)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado regulators reject a violation-plagued oil and gas operator’s bid to continue operating for another six months after the company flouts an order to stop selling its product. (Colorado Sun)
• Colorado clean air advocates call on regulators to assess proposed oil and gas development’s cumulative impacts on ozone pollution before approving new drilling. (Colorado Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Nevada officials are set to vote this week on Tesla’s request for $330 million in tax abatements over the next two decades for expanding its facilities near Reno. (ABC News)

ELECTRIFICATION:
• Denver, Colorado, bans natural gas furnaces and water heaters, but not stoves, in new commercial and multifamily construction starting in 2024. (Denver Gazette)
• An Oregon natural gas utility is the only funder so far of a bid to overturn Eugene’s new fossil fuel hookup ban in new low-rise residential construction. (KLCC)

TRANSPORTATION: Oregon lawmakers introduce a bill that would require a proposed Portland-to-Seattle high-speed rail project be extended to Eugene. (OPB)

COAL: New Mexico lawmakers introduce a bill that would expedite distributing the state’s Energy Transition Act funds to workers displaced by the San Juan coal plant and mine’s 2022 closure. (NM Political Report)

UTILITIES:
• Pacific Gas & Electric asks a California judge to throw out criminal manslaughter charges stemming from the 2020 Zogg Fire blamed on the utility’s equipment. (ABC10)
• San Diego Gas & Electric pledges $16 million and Southern California Gas $10 million in shareholder funding to help low-income customers pay rising utility bills. (news release, City News Service)

NUCLEAR: Western municipal utilities hope a proposed small modular nuclear reactor facility will help them decarbonize their grids, but mounting costs threaten the project. (Wired)

CLIMATE: Washington holds its first carbon market trading program auction that is expected to raise between $137 million and $504 million for climate-related efforts. (E&E News, subscription)

HYDROPOWER: A Washington state hydropower firm is ordered to pay $1 million and its COO is sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to polluting the Puyallup River with plastic sports turf. (KING5)

STORAGE: A southern California city’s residents fight a proposed grid-scale battery facility adjacent to residential neighborhoods, citing impacts to property values and safety concerns. (CBS8)

LITHIUM: A California environmental justice advocate praises a state commission tasked with evaluating lithium extraction in the Imperial Valley for relying on public input. (Imperial Valley Press)

GRID: Another storm pummels California’s Bay Area, toppling utility lines and leaving more than 10,000 customers without power. (San Francisco Chronicle)

COMMENTARY: A climate advocate says California must expand and upgrade its power grid to realize its clean energy ambitions. (Clean Air Task Force)