Tri-State to replace closing Colorado coal plant with gas, batteries

FOSSIL FUELS

• Tri-State Generation and Transmission proposes a 307 MW natural gas plant and a 200 MW battery storage system in northwestern Colorado to offset the Craig coal plant’s planned 2028 closure. (Grand Junction Sentinel)

• Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller signs an executive order aimed at decarbonizing city buildings and operations in response to the Trump administration’s pro-coal order. (KRQE)

• New Mexico’s congressional delegation introduces legislation that would permanently lock in the Biden administration’s ban on new oil and gas leases within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the proposed Chapita Wells natural gas pipeline in Utah, saying it will reduce methane flaring in the Uinta Basin oil field. (news release)

• An analysis finds injecting carbon dioxide into aging oil wells, or enhanced oil recovery, has boosted Wyoming crude production by about 67 million barrels over the last 20 years. (Cowboy State Daily)

• New Mexico petroleum firms say decreasing oil prices driven by economic uncertainty will likely hamper future drilling plans. (Albuquerque Journal)

PUBLIC LANDS

• Advocates say they will sue the U.S. Interior Department over its decision to cancel environmental reviews for over 3,200 oil and gas leases in seven Western states. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Southern California Edison officials say an idle, unconnected transmission line is the primary suspect behind the destructive January Eaton Fire. (Los Angeles Times)

• Southern California Edison plans to bury more than 150 miles of power lines in the Los Angeles-area in an effort to reduce wildfire hazard following January’s deadly blazes. (New York Times)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Adapture Renewables proposes a 110 MW solar-plus-storage facility on private land in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. (Del Norte Prospector)

• Idaho residents urge regulators to reject a utility’s proposal to slash net metering compensation for rooftop solar, saying it would ruin the economics of distributed generation. (Idaho Capital Sun)

• California advocates call on lawmakers to reject legislation that would reduce net metering compensation for legacy rooftop solar owners, saying it would undermine state climate goals. (news release)

• New Mexico’s state land commissioner says renewable energy development in her jurisdiction has increased nearly seven-fold since she took office six years ago. (New Mexico Political Report)

STORAGE

• EVelution Energy plans to break ground on a battery-grade cobalt processing facility in southwestern Arizona by the end of this year. (Arizona Republic)

GEOTHERMAL

• The federal Bureau of Land Management leases over 50,000 acres of land in Utah for geothermal energy development, generating an agency record-breaking $5.5 million. (Salt Lake Tribune)

HYDROPOWER

• A Colorado water utility expects a new in-pipe hydroelectric generator to offset a portion of its power costs. (CBS Colorado)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A Colorado school district says the Trump administration’s tariff threats and funding freezes have slowed its plan to replace half of its bus fleet with electric vehicles by 2040. (Boulder Daily Camera)