PacifiCorp not responsible for 2020 Oregon blaze, investigators find

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GRID

• Oregon investigators find a 2020 wildfire was sparked by drifting embers from another blaze rather than by downed PacifiCorp utility lines, as lawsuits allege. (Willamette Week)

• Hawaii lawmakers table a bill that would require landowners to clear vegetation near power lines, saying it would shift responsibility away from utilities. (Maui Now)

CLEAN ENERGY

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom fast tracks approval of a proposed 300 MW solar-plus-storage installation near Fresno. (GV Wire)

• A fast-food chain installs its third solar-plus-storage microgrid at its California restaurants. (Electrek)

• A Utah city considers building a utility-scale solar installation to help replace generation from retiring coal plants. (Cache Valley Daily)

EFFICIENCY

• Idaho lawmakers vote to reject $24.6 million in federal funding for a home energy efficiency rebate program without saying why. (Idaho Capital Sun)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Montana lawmakers and advocates expect the Trump administration’s rollback of power plant emissions rules to boost the Colstrip coal facility’s chances of continuing to operate indefinitely. (Montana Free Press)

• An advocacy group’s analysis finds more than 81% of federal Bureau of Land Management lands remain open to oil and gas leasing, casting doubt on the Trump administration’s claims the industry needs to be ​“unleashed.” (news release)

• An industry-commissioned study finds California’s oil and gas sector directly employs about 184,000 people, a 20% decline from 2013. (Fresno Bee)

• Federal analysts predict Alaska’s crude oil production will increase this year for the first time since 2016 after two new drilling projects come online. (news release)

HYDROPOWER

• Environmental groups file a lawsuit seeking to force an Oregon utility to install fish passage infrastructure at its hydropower dam in the western part of the state. (OPB)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposed carbon dioxide sequestration project in southeastern Wyoming. (Douglas Budget)

OVERSIGHT

• The Trump administration plans to close at least two dozen federal agency offices in California relating to science, agriculture and the environment, including the U.S. EPA facility in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times)

TRANSPORTATION

• U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, introduces legislation that would redirect Biden-era electric vehicle-related funds to highway projects. (press release)

• Montana lawmakers advance a resolution looking at ways to expand public transportation. (Daily Montanan)

COMMENTARY

• A Nevada columnist urges residents to support a plan to withdraw the Ruby Mountains from future oil and gas leases. (Sierra Nevada Ally)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Jeff St. John breaks down a new report warning that Americans will suffer higher energy bills if Inflation Reduction Act incentives are repealed.

• Michael Grunwald’s Eating the Earth column returns with an examination of how climate progress within the food system may still be possible over the next four years.