Solar projects run into opposition, hostility in Arizona

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• Solar industry officials say politically motivated opposition and hostility is stifling clean energy development in some rural Arizona communities. (Heatmap)

• Advocates push back on Idaho Power’s proposal to slash net metering compensation rates for rooftop solar owners by 72%. (news release)

• Sacramento Municipal Utility District awards 21 nonprofits $532,000 for clean energy projects and efficiency upgrades. (news release)

FOSSIL FUELS

• PacifiCorp cancels plans to convert two units at a Wyoming coal plant to natural gas rather than shutter them as previously planned, citing the Trump administration’s fossil fuel-friendly policies. (WyoFile)

• Washington state regulators consider fining a natural gas utility $5.7 million for dozens of alleged safety violations leading to a fatal fire in 2023. (Tri-cities Area Journal of Business)

GEOTHERMAL

• Colorado awards 16 projects a total of $14.4 million to plan and install geothermal heat pumps and thermal energy networks for homes and buildings. (news release)

HYDROPOWER

• Federal regulators seek public input on a proposed pumped hydropower storage project in northwestern Colorado. (Steamboat Pilot & Today)

• Idaho Power partners with national laboratories to study the feasibility of producing hydrogen at existing hydropower plants. (news release)

• Portland General Electric says one of its hydropower dams produced record levels of electricity last year following upgrades to the facility. (Water Power)

UTILITIES

• Montana advocates and insurance officials urge lawmakers to reject a bill that would limit lawsuits against utilities for equipment-sparked wildfires. (Montana Free Press)

• Moody’s upgrades Pacific Gas & Electric’s credit rating, saying the utility’s wildfire mitigation efforts have reduced its risk. (Utility Dive)

TRANSPORTATION

• Democratic Oregon lawmakers propose raising the state gasoline tax, levying a road-usage charge for electric vehicles, and raising other fees and taxes to fund transportation projects. (OPB)

• Tesla plans to install a UFO-themed, solar-powered electric vehicle supercharger station in Roswell, New Mexico. (Drive Tesla)

POLLUTION

• Colorado regulators ask the U.S. EPA for another voluntary air-quality downgrade to give them more time to develop an ozone reduction plan for the Denver area. (Greeley Tribune)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Oregon lawmakers consider a bill that would establish a $2 million rebate program for battery-powered leaf-blower purchases. (Salem Statesman-Journal)

NUCLEAR

• A rural Oregon county urges state lawmakers to pass a bill that would clear the way for a small modular nuclear reactor demonstration in a neighboring county. (news release)

COMMENTARY

• California clean energy industry representatives urge state officials to ramp up grid-scale battery energy storage development. (Capitol Weekly)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• A new report finds electric bills would rise across the country if Congress guts Inflation Reduction Act clean energy incentives, with the biggest bill increases likely to come in states across the southwest, Dan McCarthy writes.