Trump greenlights Wyoming coal mine expansion

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FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. Interior Department approves the Black Butte Coal Company’s proposed mine expansion in Wyoming after fast-tracking the environmental review. (news release)

• California lawmakers consider paying Valero Energy up to $200 million in an effort to keep its Bay Area petroleum refinery operating beyond its scheduled April 2026 retirement. (Bloomberg)

• Industry observers say ConocoPhillips’ plan to lay off 25% of its global workforce could slow or reverse Alaska’s oil and gas sector job growth. (Alaska Beacon)

• Indigenous advocates push back on Tallgrass Energy’s plan to build a hydrogen and liquefied natural gas pipeline across the Navajo Nation, citing transparency and financial liability issues. (news release)

• Environmental advocates appeal a Texas court’s decision to revoke federal protections from the lesser prairie chicken that lives in the Permian Basin. (Source NM)

• A federal Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sale in Colorado generates $6.7 million for 14 parcels totaling 7,900 acres. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Experts say installations like the recently completed solar-over-canal array in California’s Central Valley can reduce evaporation and offer a faster path to clean energy development than utility-scale projects. (Canary Media)

• Oregon’s Energy Department challenges the U.S. EPA’s termination of the Solar for All program, saying $86 million had already been awarded to the state under a legally binding contract. (Oregonian)

• California residents form a nonprofit to ensure rural communities have a voice in clean energy development in the Central Valley. (PV Magazine)

• Washington state awards $41 million from its carbon cap-and-invest program to fund 29 clean energy projects. (KPQ)

HYDROPOWER

• Eco Wave Power launches a wave energy installation at the Port of Los Angeles, with plans to expand the 100 kw pilot project to 60 MW of generating capacity. (Canary Media)

GEOTHERMAL

• A federal Bureau of Land Management geothermal lease sale in Idaho brings in about $4.4 million for nine parcels totaling 24,355 acres. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• California EV manufacturer Rivian lays off 200 employees as part of an effort to ​“improve operational efficiency.” (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)

DATA CENTERS

• Montana residents push back on NorthWestern Energy’s plan to increase generating capacity to serve projected data center-driven load increases, saying it could perpetuate coal burning in the state. (Billings Gazette)

• Arizona utility Salt River Project and Google collaborate on an effort to deploy non-lithium ion long duration energy storage at scale to help power the tech firm’s data centers. (news release)

LITHIUM

• The federal Bureau of Land Management finds Albermarle’s proposed Silver Peak lithium mine expansion in Nevada would have minimal environmental impacts, sparking advocates’ pushback. (E&E News, news release)

CLIMATE

• Washington state’s Department of Ecology rejects a recent U.S. Energy Department’s report, saying it downplays climate change to justify regulation rollbacks. (My Bellingham Now)

HYDROGEN

• Koloma proposes using sonic waves and exploratory drilling to search for naturally occurring hydrogen deposits in Canyon County, Idaho. (Idaho Statesman)

BIOFUELS

• Washington state agencies and universities again fall short of a requirement that they purchase biofuels to power diesel vehicles. (Capital Press)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Tesla just launched the Megablock, a big, easy-to-deploy grid battery — Julian Spector

• Will this startup be the first to successfully scale up ocean power? — Julian Spector

• This startup says it can halve the cost of a heat pump — here’s how — Alison F. Takemura

• North Carolina families see lower bills with new Duke Energy program — Elizabeth Ouzts