Survey: Permian Basin littered with methane ​“super emitters”

OIL & GAS: An aerial survey of the Permian Basin detects 533 oil and gas facilities consistently emitting large volumes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. (Associated Press)

ALSO:
• Environmental advocates laud provisions in a new U.S. Senate climate bill that would increase oil and gas royalties and reclamation bonds, but condemn a requirement to lease 2 million acres for fossil fuel development prior to issuing renewable energy rights of way. (New York Times)
• A California county considers increasing oil and gas reclamation bonds to bring them closer to the level needed to plug and clean up idle wells. (Ventura County Star)

COAL:
• Hawaii’s only coal power plant receives its last shipment of coal in preparation for its September retirement. (Hawaii Public Radio)
• Environmental groups sue Montana regulators over their approval of a coal mine expansion, saying the project would worsen climate change’s effects. (Montana Free Press)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A California school district’s electric bus fleet becomes the nation’s first vehicle-to-grid project to go online. (Los Angeles Times)
• Colorado launches a month-long initiative to provide free public transit in the greater Denver area during the region’s peak ozone season. (Colorado Newsline)

GRID:
• California’s grid avoids power outages so far this summer as cooler than expected coastal temperatures dampen electricity demand. (E&E News, subscription)
• A clean energy advocate-commissioned report finds a Western regional transmission organization would add renewable energy to the grid, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save ratepayers billions of dollars. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a 1,000 MW solar-plus-storage project proposed for 10,000 acres in southeastern Arizona. (news release)
• The U.S. Energy Department launches pilot programs aimed at promoting equitable access to community solar in five states, including Colorado and New Mexico. (Nextgov)

HYDROPOWER: Oregon researchers find removing four hydropower dams in Washington state provides the ​“only reasonable opportunity” to save the region’s imperiled salmon. (news release)

GEOTHERMAL: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis launches an initiative encouraging Western states to develop geothermal power. (Center Square)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Energy Department selects a design for a proposed fast nuclear test reactor in Idaho that would be used to develop fuels for advanced reactors. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY: A climate advocate urges California officials to turn to rooftop solar and electric vehicle-to-grid technology to displace fossil fuels from the electricity sector. (San Francisco Chronicle)