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Oil firm plans natural gas-powered cryptocurrency mining in Alaska

By Jonathan P. Thompson

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OIL & GAS: A petroleum firm and a data center developer plan to install a natural gas-powered cryptocurrency mining facility at an oil and gas well on Alaska’s North Slope. (Northern Journal)

ALSO: A petroleum executive predicts only moderate oil and gas production increases during a more permissive Trump administration, with most of the gains coming from the Permian Basin. (Hart Energy)

HYDROPOWER:

SOLAR:

  • A Colorado researcher looks to grow crops, increase buildings’ efficiency and generate electricity by installing solar panels over rooftop gardens on Denver highrises. (Colorado Sun)
  • An Idaho city acquires enough solar power to offset 100% of its airport’s and wastewater treatment facility’s energy use as part of an effort to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. (Idaho Capital Sun)
  • The U.S. Agriculture Department awards 15 Montana entities $600,000 to install solar arrays and more efficient equipment. (NBC Montana)

HYDROGEN: A New Mexico electrical cooperative proposes a solar-powered green hydrogen production facility and energy storage system using treated wastewater from an abandoned mine. (Clean Technica)

STORAGE: An Arizona utility proposes a 200 MW battery energy storage system with the capacity to power 45,000 homes for four hours during peak demand. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Oregon has recorded 102,461 zero-emissions vehicle registrations, a 400% increase from 2019. (OPB)

GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction 6,061 acres in western Utah for geothermal power development. (St. George News)

UTILITIES: A Washington state utility pushes back on Bonneville Power Administration’s preference for SPP’s day-ahead power market, saying the California grid operator’s competing proposal would yield more benefits. (RTO Insider, subscription)

LITHIUM: The developer of the contested Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada plans to move forward even if the incoming Trump administration kills federal electric vehicle incentives. (NPR)

POLITICS: Nevada conservationists predict the incoming Trump administration will stifle clean energy development on public lands in the state and encourage new natural gas plants. (Nevada Current)

COMMENTARY: A New Mexico petroleum executive urges developers of a proposed liquefied natural gas export facility to draw from oil and gas fields across the West, rather than relying entirely on the Permian Basin. (Santa Fe New Mexican)