Poll: Californians comfortable with solar and wind in their backyards

CLEAN ENERGY: A poll finds a majority of California registered voters would be comfortable with utility-scale wind and solar facilities sited near their communities, while only 42% would be okay living near high-voltage transmission lines. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO: Arizona’s two regulated power utilities plan to add a combined 8,200 MW of clean energy capacity, 3,300 MW of grid-scale storage and at least 400 MW of natural gas generation over the next 15 years. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: A developer begins construction on a 377 MW solar facility with 300 MW of battery storage near Phoenix, Arizona. (PV Magazine)

UTILITIES:

• Wyoming oil and gas producers urge regulators to reject Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed 30% rate hike, saying it would wipe out their profit margins. (WyoFile)
• A Wyoming agency and industry group challenge Washington state’s carbon pricing program, claiming it leads to higher rates for Rocky Mountain Power customers. (Casper Star-Tribune)

TRANSMISSION: The Tohono O’odham Nation’s chairman calls on the Biden administration to halt construction on a segment of the SunZia transmission line in southern Arizona, saying it could harm cultural sites. (Arizona Daily Star)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• New data show electric vehicles accounted for 21.5% of all cars sold in California during the first nine months of the year. (Los Angeles Times)
• A Portland, Oregon, disposal and recycling agency unveils the city’s first electric garbage truck. (OPB)

BATTERIES: A company begins producing nano-silicon battery anodes for electric vehicles at its Provo, Utah, facility. (EV Report)

CRYPTOCURRENCY: A company begins mining bitcoin using electricity generated from methane siphoned off a Utah landfill. (Coin Telegraph)

OIL & GAS: 

• A federal judge rejects environmentalists’ bid to block federal drilling permits for 4,366 oil and gas wells in the Permian and Powder River Basins of New Mexico and Wyoming. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• A federal judge rejects California fishermen’s bid to move a lawsuit against the oil industry to a state court. (E&E News, subscription)

ELECTRIFICATION:

• An Arizona advocates’ study finds gasoline-powered lawn equipment emit significant volumes of greenhouse gasses and other harmful pollutants. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Washington state lawmakers propose loosening heat pump and other electrification requirements for wildfire victims looking to rebuild. (Spokesman-Review)

HYDROGEN: The nation’s largest green hydrogen production facility begins operations in Fresno, California. (ETN)

COAL:

• Powder River Basin coal production ticks up slightly from earlier in the year, but remains on a downward slide. (Gillette News Record, IEEFA)
• A peer-reviewed study finds Indigenous coal miners with black lung disease are less likely to qualify for medical benefits using current lung function standards. (news release)

CLIMATE: Washington officials look to link the state’s carbon pricing program with Quebec’s, saying it would stabilize and lower prices. (Crosscut)