PG&E lands $15 billion federal loan for grid upgrades

UTILITIES: The U.S. Energy Department tentatively awards Pacific Gas & Electric a $15 billion loan to upgrade its grid to meet burgeoning demand and fund climate resiliency and wildfire hazard mitigation projects. (New York Times)

ALSO:

• Xcel Energy proposes a $5 billion plan to upgrade its Colorado distribution grid to help it accommodate increasing numbers of rooftop solar installations, electric vehicles and heat pumps driving demand to levels ​“we haven’t seen since the advent of air conditioning.” (Colorado Sun)
• Arizona utility regulators accuse an outgoing member of violating state confidentiality laws by publicly questioning a $20,000 bonus for the commission’s executive director. (12 News)

SOLAR:

• Arizona regulators reaffirm their decision allowing the state’s largest utility to impose a grid access charge on rooftop solar customers after advocates call the fee discriminatory. (Arizona Capitol Times)
• California advocates expect utility-scale solar development on federal lands to continue at a rapid pace under the incoming Trump administration. (Desert Sun)
• Analysts find California leads the nation in rooftop solar installations even though the state slashed net metering incentives last year. (Fast Company)
• New Mexico leases 80 acres to a proposed 5 MW community solar project in the southern part of the state. (Las Cruces Sun)

WIND: Honolulu’s city council votes to ban wind turbines within at least 1.25 miles of homes and schools following pushback from some residents. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

GRID:

• The U.S. Energy Department seeks public input on three proposed national transmission corridors, including the Southwest Grid Connector in Colorado and New Mexico. (Power)
• Federal lawmakers from the Northwest say Bonneville Power Administration has failed to make a financial case for joining SPP’s regional day-ahead power market. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Los Angeles’ municipal utility board approves its proposal to join the California grid operator’s extended day-ahead Western power market. (RTO Insider, subscription) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The U.S. EPA awards Oregon $6.5 million to replace 26 diesel school buses with electric ones, install charging infrastructure and train mechanics to work on EVs. (OPB)

COAL: A Wyoming lawmaker proposes reviving the moribund coal industry and achieving state energy autonomy by developing small modular coal plants and community-scale microgrids. (Cowboy State Daily)

HYDROPOWER: Oregon advocates say a hydropower dam complex is harming water quality and fish on the lower Deschutes River. (Willamette Week)

URANIUM: Administrative judges find the federal Bureau of Land Management’s approval of a Utah uranium mine’s expansion near Bears Ears National Monument violated environmental laws. (news release)

COMMENTARY: A Wyoming analyst urges the state to build its economy with an all-of-the-above, carbon-negative approach to energy development that promotes both renewables and fossil fuels. (WyoFile)