Trump approves solar-enabling transmission line in California

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the proposed Sapphire transmission project to serve a planned utility-scale solar project on private land in southern California, saying it is part of its ​“energy dominance” agenda. (Heatmap, news release)

• The diverse coalition supporting failed Wyoming legislation that would have expanded net-metering compensation for rooftop solar says it will propose a similar bill next year. (Inside Climate News)

• Southern California’s solar industry urges lawmakers to preserve federal tax credits for rooftop installations, saying they are vital to local economies. (NBC Palm Springs)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says oil and gas companies drilling federal land are ​“customers” contributing to the nation’s ​“balance sheet” that should be thanked and accommodated. (CNBC)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management releases new air quality analyses for two proposed oil and gas developments in western Colorado after a court rejected the previous reviews. (news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposed oil and gas lease sale in western Colorado. (news release)

GRID

• A report finds New Mexico’s largest utility experienced a steep increase in outages last year and attributes the rise in part to wildfires and extreme weather events. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

• New Mexico regulators scrutinize El Paso Electric’s decision to split with the state’s largest utility by joining SPP’s regional day-ahead power market. (New Mexico Political Report)

• Severe winds batter utility equipment and increase fire hazard in southeastern New Mexico, leaving tens of thousands of customers without power. (Amarillo Globe-News)

STORAGE

• California regulators vote to increase safety standards for grid-scale battery energy storage facilities following multiple fires at the Moss Landing plant in the central part of the state. (E&E News)

ELECTRIFICATION

• A California public-private partnership releases a blueprint designed to help the state reach its goal of deploying 6 million electric heat pumps by 2030. (Canary Media)

OVERSIGHT

• California advocates say the U.S. EPA’s plan to weaken or repeal dozens of regulations would take a figurative ​“wrecking ball” to the state’s environmental protection efforts. (Los Angeles Times)

HYDROPOWER

• Federal lawmakers from Utah introduce legislation that would block environmental restrictions on hydropower production from Glen Canyon Dam. (Western Water)

PUBLIC LANDS

• The Trump administration sparks confusion by rescinding two Biden-era national monument designations in California before apparently rolling back the order. (Los Angeles Times)

NUCLEAR

• Colorado lawmakers pass a bill that would classify nuclear power as ​“clean energy,” making reactors eligible for additional financing. (Complete Colorado)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Ohio’s Supreme Court considers whether a rejection for a rural solar project has​“essentially rewritten” state law to give local governments veto power over clean energy projects, Kathiann Kowalski reports.