Report: Plugging New Mexico oil and gas wells could cost billions

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FOSSIL FUELS

• A New Mexico legislative committee finds cleaning up the state’s 700 abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells will cost about $208 million and says an additional 4,400 wells could need plugging in the future. (Source NM)

• Colorado regulators hit a Chevron subsidiary with six notices of alleged violation stemming from an April oil and gas well blowout and spill that forced multiple evacuations in the northeastern part of the state. (CPR)

• Colorado regulators call violation-plagued petroleum firm K.P. Kauffman ​“chronically noncompliant and recalcitrant,” but back off on ordering the company to plug 39 low-producing oil and gas wells. (Colorado Sun)

• Montana officials investigate an explosion at an oilfield storage and disposal site in the eastern part of the state and say no one was injured in the blast. (Associated Press)

• The Trump administration implements a rule allowing Alaska oil and gas workers to more intensely harass polar bears to keep them away from people and infrastructure. (Alaska Beacon)

LITHIUM

• Nevada regulators order the Thacker Pass lithium mine to cease groundwater pumping after a local rancher challenges the facility’s water right permits. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

GRID

• A researcher finds an endangered wildflower in the path of the Greenlink West transmission line under development in Nevada, potentially affecting the project. (Pahrump Valley Times)

• Environmental groups file a protest seeking to overturn the federal Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the Greenlink North transmission project in Nevada, saying it would destroy greater sage-grouse habitat. (news release)

• Oregon lawmakers pass bills aimed at encouraging community microgrid development and facilitating clean energy project interconnections. (OPB)

NUCLEAR

• Oregon legislation that would have exempted Umatilla County from a statewide ban on new nuclear reactors stalls and appears unlikely to pass this session. (OPB)

TRANSPORTATION

• Hawaii officials release a plan to decarbonize the state’s transportation sector by transitioning to electric vehicles, adding more bike and pedestrian paths, and expanding public transit. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

• California regulators repeal a state rule requiring rail operators to phase out diesel locomotives after it failed to garner federal approval. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Oregon lawmakers pass legislation that would require utilities to report on upcoming rate increases and analyze their impacts on consumers. (OPB)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Turlock Unified School District in California acquires 9 electric buses and solar canopy-powered chargers as part of an effort to replace its diesel fleet by 2035. (news release)

STORAGE

• Nevada firm Redwood Materials begins repurposing depleted electric vehicle batteries into grid-scale energy storage systems. (Verge)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Sierra Space opens a solar array manufacturing facility in Broomfield, Colorado. (evertiq)

• U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a New Mexico Democrat, introduces legislation aimed at expanding access to community solar projects. (news release)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Denmark and Djibouti top the list of the 10 countries that rely the most heavily on wind and solar power, Dan McCarthy reports.

• A development in an Austin, Texas, suburb includes a geothermal system that taps underground heat to warm and cool its buildings, and plans to connect it to as many as 7,500 planned homes, Terry L. Jones reports.