Tribal nations: Washington solar permitting threatens culture

SOLAR: Tribal nations say Washington state’s solar permitting and siting process threatens cultural resources and Indigenous foodways by relying on often-inadequate developer-sponsored archaeological surveys. (High Country News)

ALSO: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed 200 MW Dodge Flat II solar facility in Washoe County, Nevada. (news release)

HYDROPOWER: The Alaska Native village of Eklutna calls for a southcentral Alaska hydropower dam’s removal even as utilities propose ways to mitigate the facility’s impacts. (Anchorage Daily News)

OIL & GAS: 

• Hilcorp agrees to pay $34.6 million to resolve claims it knowingly underpaid royalties on oil and gas it extracted from federal lands in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin. (Reuters)
• A company seeks to maintain water rights for oil and gas development on federal land in western Colorado slated to be protected from future mining and energy uses. (Aspen Journalism)

BATTERIES: A company plans to build a 50 MW battery storage facility at a shuttered ice rink adjoining a natural gas peaker plant in southern California. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

UTILITIES:

• An audit finds Montana’s utility regulators have made improvements since state lawmakers cracked down on alleged waste and incompetence in 2021, but some issues linger. (Montana Free Press)
• A California lawmaker proposes legislation that would bar utilities from using ratepayer funds for lobbying or other political speech. (Orange County Register)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration awards Hawaii $6.9 million to build out its electric vehicle charging network. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

TRANSPORTATION:

• A New Mexico lawmaker introduces legislation that would allow fuel producers to purchase and sell carbon credits in an effort to encourage companies to invest in cleaner transportation fuels. (Source NM)
• A California lawmaker proposes consolidating 27 transit agencies in the Bay Area, saying the current model is inequitable and leaves gaps between systems. (Mercury News)

MINING:

• Advocates worry that a flurry of lithium, copper and other critical material mining proposals will further strain drought-stressed Southwestern water supplies. (Inside Climate News)
• Energy companies plan to reopen and expand idled Wyoming uranium mines as commodity prices hit a 17-year-high. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A uranium company begins the permitting process for exploratory drilling on U.S. Forest Service land in western New Mexico. (news release)

BIOFUELS: A Hawaii energy company uses federal funds to establish a sunflower plantation on Kauai to supply biodiesel feedstock. (Hawaii News Now)

COAL: A Wyoming startup that manufactures activated carbon from Powder River Basin coal looks to expand its operations. (Cowboy State Daily)

COMMENTARY: A former Utah lawmaker urges state and federal leaders to streamline transmission permitting to enable rural communities to sell clean energy to urban areas. (Deseret News)