Study: Hawaii needs more solar and storage, not gas plants

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• University of Hawai’i researchers find developing more utility-scale solar-plus-storage rather than a new natural gas plant will save the state’s utility ratepayers billions of dollars and smooth the transition to 100% renewable energy. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

• Long Beach, California, installs six off-grid solar-powered EV charging units to power the city’s fleet. (Yahoo Autos)

UTILITIES

• Montana regulators reduce the number of public hearings on NorthWestern energy’s proposed Integrated Resource Plan, drawing advocates’ criticism. (Daily Montanan)

• Consumer and environmental advocates, local governments, and other entities look to intervene in NorthWestern Energy’s proposed data center and large load rate structure case. (Montana Free Press)

CLIMATE

• California’s Air Resources Board delays the state’s new Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act disclosure deadline by three months to allow firms more time to comply with the new emissions disclosure law. (Utility Dive)

GRID

• The Western Governors Association backs a proposed $60 billion plan to add or upgrade 12,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in the region over the next decade, saying projected demand growth requires a more robust grid. (Deseret News, Utah News Dispatch)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Alaska’s petroleum industry and municipalities head to court to debate the trans-Alaska pipeline’s valuation that would determine how much its operators owe in property taxes. (Northern Journal)

• A Democratic California lawmaker introduces legislation that would ban gas stations from hiking fuel prices by more than 10% after a war breaks out. (Sacramento Bee)

• Advocates criticize the federal Bureau of Land Management’s decision to re-open nearly 1 million acres in central and southern California to oil and gas leasing. (CBS News)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 20 proposed oil and gas leases covering 3,388 acres in Montana and North Dakota. (news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 92 proposed oil and gas leases covering 208,576 acres in Arizona slated for sale in February 2027; these are in addition to 40 parcels up for auction in the state this December. (news release)

• New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposes using a portion of the state’s $825 million oil and gas tax revenue windfall to fund a $250 rebate for each state taxpayer to help offset Iran war-related fuel cost increases. (KOB 4)

TRANSPORTATION

• California awards the Port of Long Beach $338 million to purchase a battery-electric tugboat and other cargo-handling equipment and deploy 21 EV charging stations. (electrek)

• A study finds vehicle-related pollution leads to more than 8,300 premature deaths and 5,500 new pediatric asthma cases annually in California. (KPBS)

STORAGE

• The U.S. EPA and Vistra Corp. complete the first phase of cleaning up after fire destroyed much of the Moss Landing battery energy storage system in California and enter a more complex stage of the process. (Mercury News)

NUCLEAR

• Industry observers say the U.S. Energy Department’s Reactor Pilot Program is paying off as small nuclear reactors reach criticality in Utah and Idaho. (NPR)

ELECTRIFICATION

• The University of Oregon plans to replace its natural gas boiler with an electric one, saying the equipment is the largest single source of greenhouse gases in Eugene. (OPB)

HYDROGEN

• A Colorado startup completes a mapping project designed to find naturally occurring hydrogen deposits in Lake County, California. (Bay City News)