Trump fast-tracks TerraPower’s Wyoming nuclear reactor review

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NUCLEAR

• The Trump administration accelerates permitting for TerraPower’s proposed advanced nuclear reactor in Wyoming and expects the environmental review to be completed at the end of this year. (WyoFile)

OIL & GAS

• The Trump administration approves the proposed Wildcat loadout facility expansion in Utah designed to transfer Uinta Basin oil from trucks to trains and onto Gulf Coast refineries. (Common Dreams)

• Colorado conservationists push back on Xcel Energy’s proposed 307 MW natural gas plant at the site of a retiring coal facility, saying battery energy storage would be cheaper and cleaner. (Big Pivots)

DATA CENTERS

• A tech firm agrees to purchase natural gas from a New Mexico field to generate up to 500 MW to power a data center under development in Roswell. (news release)

UTILITIES

• Idaho Power proposes to meet projected demand growth by adding more than 3,000 MW of solar, wind, and battery storage, converting coal plants to gas, and increasing efficiency and demand response. (Energy Storage News)

• A consumer advocacy group expects the One Big Beautiful Act’s clean energy tax credit cuts to cause Wyoming electricity prices to jump 29% by 2029. (WyoFile)

GRID

• California lawmakers slash $18 million from demand response and grid reliability programs, citing budget shortfalls. (Utility Dive)

• Recurrent Energy brings its 1,200 MWh Papago battery energy storage system online in central Arizona. (news release)

HYDROPOWER

• California rafters call on Southern California Edison to alter a hydropower plant’s operations so it doesn’t diminish Kern River flows. (Los Angeles Times)

CLIMATE

• California’s former insurance commissioner calls on insurers to divest from fossil fuels and sue oil and gas companies to hold them accountable for contributing to climate change-exacerbated natural disasters. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

• Rocky Mountain Institute finds Washington state’s carbon cap-and-invest program’s financial incentives aimed at helping companies reduce emissions is ​“broadly applicable to any jurisdiction.” (E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Tribal leaders say the federal tax and spending bill will cause widespread clean energy job losses in their communities and also jeopardize climate projects. (Grist)

• Arizona solar advocates say a lack of incentives for distributed and community clean energy development has hampered agrivoltaics’ growth in the state. (High Country News)

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers in Colorado develop a translucent solar panel that allows some light to pass through and reach crops. (KUNC)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Arizona lawmakers approve a 2026 ballot measure that would block state and local governments from imposing mileage-based road fees aimed at electric vehicle users. (Arizona Daily Star)

OVERSIGHT

• Some California advocates say weakened state environmental regulations will lead to denser housing development, shorter commutes, and fewer greenhouse gas-emissions. (Grist)

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• The Trump administration approves 3 Proton Lithium’s proposed Railroad Valley exploratory drilling project in central Nevada. (Reno Gazette-Journal)

• A California startup says it has developed an electrochemical direct lithium extraction process that is cheaper and less water-intensive than conventional mining. (Hoodline)

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to attend Ramaco Resources’ rare earth elements and coal mine groundbreaking in Wyoming this week. (Cowboy State Daily)

• Mining firms begin exploratory uranium drilling in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)