Study: COVID-19 deadlier for those near oil and gas wells

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OIL & GAS: A peer-reviewed study finds Californians who lived near high-producing oil and gas wells were more likely to contract and die from COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic. (Inside Climate News)

ALSO:

• Industry experts expect the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian oil to lead to increased gasoline prices in Colorado because the state’s only refinery receives crude from Alberta tar sands fields. (Colorado Newsline)
• New Mexico advocates worry the Trump administration will rescind a 20-year oil and gas drilling ban around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (New Mexico Political Report)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management issues 17 contested oil and gas leases in the Greater Chaco region of northwestern New Mexico, which advocates’ challenges had held up since 2019. (news release)
• California Bay Area officials issue a public health advisory after a fire breaks out at a trouble-plagued petroleum refinery. (KCRA)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 21 proposed oil and gas leases in New Mexico and Oklahoma. (news release)

SOLAR:

• Arizona advocates file a lawsuit seeking to rescind regulators’ approval of a rooftop solar fee, saying it is discriminatory. (Solar Power World)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards a western Colorado nonprofit $200,000 to develop community agrivoltaics projects, but the Trump administration’s spending pause has thrown the funding into doubt. (Daily Sentinel)

UTILITIES:

• Lawyers suing Southern California Edison over its alleged role in the deadly Los Angeles-area Eaton Fire say a decommissioned electrical tower may have sparked the blaze when it was reenergized during a windstorm. (Washington Post)
• Arizona regulators say the state will need more natural gas generating capacity to meet population growth and data center-driven electricity demand growth. (Arizona Republic)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California officials look to use incentives and subsidies to prod fleet operators to transition to electric big rigs after the U.S. EPA failed to approve the state’s EV truck mandate. (Los Angeles Times)

STORAGE:

• Idaho-based KORE Power abandons plans to establish a $1 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Arizona, saying it is restructuring. (Arizona Republic)
• The Yakama Nation in Washington considers developing a 500 MW gravity-powered advanced rail energy storage system. (OPB)
• A Silicon Valley electric vehicle battery manufacturer plans to cut 53 jobs, citing ​“business needs.” (Bay Area News Group)

CLIMATE: The Trump administration orders the U.S. Forest Service to delete all mentions of climate change from agency websites. (Politico)

GRID: Unusually high winds batter utility equipment on Colorado’s Front Range, leaving more than 8,000 customers without power. (KDVR)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming officials hope the state’s growing nuclear industry will provide hundreds of high-paying jobs. (Cowboy State Daily)