Solar firm plans $1 billion New Mexico factory

SOLAR: A Singapore-based solar company plans to establish a $1 billion manufacturing plant with 1,800 employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Albuquerque Journal)

ALSO:
• A Colorado college professor partners with the Navajo Nation Solar Initiative to bring electricity to off-grid reservation homes. (Durango Herald)
• A nonprofit installs a rooftop solar system on the Bishop Paiute Tribe’s affordable housing complex in California. (Solar Power World)

CLIMATE:
• The death toll reaches 55 after firefighters douse wildfires in Maui; Hawaii’s governor says it will ​“without a doubt” cost billions of dollars to rebuild. (Washington Post)
• California works with fossil fuel-financing banks to fund state climate change fighting initiatives. (Capital & Main)
• Montana is set to spend $95,000 for expert testimony on its behalf in a youths’ climate lawsuit over the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies. (Daily Montanan)

WIND:
• A California county votes to allow a wind power facility to begin operating without a federal golden eagle incidental take permit. (Santa Maria Times)
• A proposed 60 MW floating wind power project near a space force base off California’s coast garners a key permit from the U.S. Defense Department. (Recharge)

UTILITIES:
• Southern California Gas Co. agrees to pay $71 million to resolve outstanding issues relating to the 2015 Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility blowout that released 100,000 tons of methane and other substances. (City News Service)
• California regulators fine San Diego Community Power more than $1 million for failing to procure sufficient backup resources even though the utility says the power wasn’t available on the market. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A California utility executive defends his positions on climate change and the utility’s fight against the U.S. EPA’s proposed power plant greenhouse gas emissions rules. (Los Angeles Times)
• Montana regulators seek public input on NorthWestern Energy’s integrated resource plan criticized by advocates for being too fossil fuel-reliant. (KPAX)
• New Mexico regulators begin developing guidelines for utilities looking to join regional transmission organizations. (NM Political Report)

COAL: A Colorado entrepreneur uses methane gas leaking from abandoned coal mines to fire tiles made from reservoir-clogging silt. (Aspen Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado is slated to launch its electric bicycle rebate program next week. (9News)

CLEAN ENERGY: A Montana nonprofit launches a program aimed at bringing young mothers into the clean energy workforce. (Missoulian)

EFFICIENCY: Colorado’s real estate industry pushes back against proposed state rules requiring efficiency upgrades for large residential and commercial buildings. (Denver Gazette)

HYDROGEN: California’s energy commission allocates $6 million to two hydrogen fueling station projects. (S&P Global)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming’s energy office recommends a combined $19 million in state funding for a nuclear microreactor feasibility study and a proposed carbon storage hub in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada conservationist urges the federal Bureau of Land Management to implement rules guiding renewable energy development to less sensitive public lands. (Nevada Independent)