Solar cell factory will bring 350 jobs to Colorado city

SOLAR: A Swiss company plans to establish a solar cell production facility in Colorado Springs, bringing an estimated 350 jobs. (KRDO)

ALSO: Arizona utility Salt River Project agrees to purchase 800 MW from the proposed 1,200 MW CO Bar Solar project in the northern part of the state. (news release)

WIND:
• Deer find refuge next to turbines as a fast-growing wildfire tears through a wind power facility and threatens other energy infrastructure in Washington state. (Associated Press)
• Federal wildlife officials issue incidental take permits for California condors to eight wind power facilities and require developers to spend more than $6 million to support the endangered bird. (Bakersfield Californian)

OIL & GAS:
• Montana conservationists and the petroleum industry say the Biden administration’s proposed oil and gas reforms could curtail federal leasing in the state. (Billings Gazette)
• California regulators plan to plug and reclaim 100 idle oil and gas wells that have been leaking methane for an undetermined amount of time. (Bakersfield Californian)

GRID:
• Bonneville Power Administration plans some $2 billion worth of power grid upgrades in the Northwest to accommodate a predicted 23% increase in electricity demand. (Seattle Times)
• California’s grid operator urges federal regulators to reject an energy company’s request to recover more than double a cost cap for its Ten West Link transmission project under construction in Arizona. (Utility Dive)
• A severe thunderstorm in Tucson, Arizona, topples utility lines, leaving more than 1,000 customers without power during a record-breaking heatwave. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Oakland, California’s city council urges Pacific Gas & Electric to bury its power lines in wildfire-prone areas in and around the city. (Oaklandside)

DIVESTMENT: Seattle University becomes Washington’s first higher education institution to completely divest from fossil fuel interests. (Seattle Times)

CLIMATE:
• An international research team finds the heat wave gripping the Southwest would be ​“almost impossible” without climate change. (Inside Climate News)
• Arizona’s congressional Democrats seek federal funding to help low-income families cover electricity and air-conditioning bills during the ongoing heat wave. (Arizona Republic)

NUCLEAR: An environmental group’s study finds extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s operations through 2045 could cost California utility ratepayers up to $45 billion. (The Hill)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Colorado advocates and policymakers debate whether private investors or utility ratepayers should foot the bill for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (Colorado Sun)
• Electric vehicle sales flatten in Colorado, but demand for hybrid cars remains strong. (Colorado Sun)
• An analysis finds Montana, Alaska and Wyoming are electric vehicle charging deserts, with fewer than 100 public stations each. (InvestigateTV)

COAL: Wyoming researchers work to develop coal-based asphalt. (County 17)

ELECTRIFICATION: Oregon begins providing rebates to landlords installing electric heat pumps in rental housing units. (OPB)