Supreme Court mercury ruling imperils Montana coal plant

COAL: The U.S. Supreme Court leaves in place a U.S. EPA mercury emissions rule requiring operators of the Colstrip coal plant in Montana to install costly pollution controls or close the facility. (Montana Free Press)

OIL & GAS: 

• The U.S. Supreme Court rejects the petroleum industry’s bid to block a Biden administration rule aimed at reducing oil and gas facilities’ methane emissions, but does not disclose its reasons. (Associated Press)
• California regulators halt work on restarting an offshore oil pipeline that ruptured in 2015, saying the operator was working without a permit. (KEYT)

SOLAR:

• A new Colorado law aims to revive the state’s lagging community solar program by requiring utilities to offer more capacity and by tweaking grid interconnection rules. (CPR)
• Oregon farmers push back against a proposed solar installation on private land near Eugene, saying it would take land out of agriculture. (Daily Emerald)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed 117 MW Sapphire solar-plus-battery storage project on private and federal land in southern California. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY: Veterans of Alaska’s oil industry shift their focus to developing wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power projects, saying the state’s energy-friendliness will reduce siting conflicts. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIFICATION: A northern Nevada school district replaces diesel lawn mowers and leaf blowers with electric ones. (This is Reno)

WIND: A clean energy developer opens its wind turbine technician training center in Oregon. (OPB)

POLITICS: Indigenous advocates support Vice President Kamala Harris’s policies toward tribal nations, but worry her verve for clean energy development could endanger sacred lands. (Grist)

HYDROPOWER: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issues a plan for a contested hydropower dam that includes possibly converting it to pumped hydro storage. (Alaska Public Media)

GRID:

• California’s grid operator advances a proposed transmission project in Nevada that would provide access to Idaho wind facilities over objections from some residents. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• The U.S. Agriculture Department awards two Colorado organizations nearly $70 million for a 75 MW solar installation and for a utility to deploy smart grid technologies and upgrade power lines. (news release)

NUCLEAR: Ute Mountain Ute tribal members gather at the Utah capitol to call for the shutdown of the nation’s only operating uranium mill in the southeastern part of the state. (Utah News Dispatch)

TRANSITION: Navajo advocates cheer the San Juan Coal plant’s demolition in northwestern New Mexico, while other tribal members mourn the loss of jobs and tax revenues. (NPR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Eight Mountain West states team up to build out an electric vehicle charging network on heavily traveled rural routes. (KSL)