PacifiCorp seeks Oregon’s protection from wildfire damage payouts

UTILITIES: PacifiCorp asks Oregon regulators to limit the type and financial scope of lawsuit damages that wildfire victims can bring against the utility, drawing criticism from residents and advocates who question the proposal’s motive and legality. (Oregonian)

ALSO:

• High winds in eastern Washington leave more than 850 households without power as a utility struggles to restore natural gas service to the region following a pipeline breach. (Spokesman-Review)
• Xcel Energy plans to lay off 59 Colorado employees, saying inflation and supply chain constraints have created financial headwinds. (KDVR)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Forest Service proposes allowing underground carbon dioxide storage on land it manages. (Reuters)

WIND: The U.S. Air Force calls on federal lawmakers to bar wind turbines within two miles of nuclear missile launch sites in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and other states. (Associated Press)

CRITICAL MATERIALS: A developer looks to expand a proposed graphite mine in Alaska to enable it to cost effectively meet rising demand for the lithium-ion battery material. (Anchorage Daily News)

SOLAR: Operations begin at a 275 MW solar-plus-storage installation on the Moapa Indian Reservation in southern Nevada. (Porterville Recorder)

TRANSPORTATION: An environmental group finds California ranks first in the nation for transportation projects that address inequality while tackling climate change. (Bloomberg)

NUCLEAR:

• A New Mexico city’s officials urge the federal government to build a nuclear reactor at a radioactive waste depository in the southeastern part of the state. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• California advocates continue to debate the future of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant a year after the state approved a plan to keep it running past its scheduled retirement date. (Associated Press)

OIL & GAS: 

• New Mexico regulators seek public input on proposed rules for reusing treated oil and gas wastewater. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• A federal judge denies environmentalists’ bid to block 5,000 new oil and gas wells in Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)
• The U.S. Interior Department disburses $4.72 billion in energy production revenue from federal land to the states where it was generated, including $2.93 billion to New Mexico. (news release)

MICROGRIDS: Developers begin construction on a community microgrid in a Colorado mountain town to provide backup during outages. (Mountain Ear)

HYDROPOWER: Northern Nevada utilities and counties push back on proposals to breach Northwestern hydropower dams to restore fish populations, saying it would eliminate an affordable and reliable electricity source. (Nevada Independent)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada writer calls on Las Vegas officials to develop a public light rail system, saying it would improve tourists’ experiences and provide a ​“vital lifeline” to less-affluent residents. (Nevada Independent)