Trump invokes emergency powers to restart California oil line

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Western Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

OVERSIGHT

• California advocates ask state officials to investigate the role AI-generated public comments may have played in the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s vote last year against proposed rules encouraging electric heat pumps. (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright invokes the Defense Production Act to restart Sable’s offshore oil pipeline near southern California’s coast, drawing blowback from state officials and advocates. (Associated Press)

• Wyoming conservation groups say the Trump administration’s ​“energy dominance-motivated” push for more oil and gas drilling on federal land threatens sage grouse and other imperiled wildlife’s critical habitat. (High Country News)

• The Trump administration reaches a deferred prosecution agreement with Phillips 66 for allegedly dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater from its Los Angeles-area refinery into the sewer system. (Climate Colored Goggles)

• Alaska lawmakers say they need more information on the proposed natural gas pipeline’s and export terminal’s costs before they will support the project. (Alaska Beacon)

• New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light members embark on a 328-mile pilgrimage to inspire climate advocacy and policies that rein in the oil and gas industry. (Inside Climate News)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 31 proposed oil and gas leases covering 17,250 acres in Colorado. (news release)

• Petroleum firms resort to trucking oil from California’s Kern County fields to Bay Area refineries after a refinery shutdown idles a pipeline. (Transport Topics)

COAL

• Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signs into law legislation levying a tax and climate pollution fee on the shuttered Centralia coal plant in an effort to thwart the Trump administration’s order to keep the facility running. (Washington State Standard)

• Navajo Nation residents push back on a tribe-owned firm’s proposal to expand a coal mine and extend its operating life, citing environmental impacts and lack of transparency. (Arizona Republic)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Linea Energy’s proposed 350 MW Globemallow solar-plus-storage project on private ranchland in central New Mexico advances with minimal opposition. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

• Hanwha Renewables considers reproposing its Muddy Creek utility-scale agrivoltaics solar project in Oregon’s Willamette Valley three years after receiving strong local pushback. (OPB)

• Amazon acquires the site of the proposed 1,200 MW Sunstone solar project in Oregon, but still must clear regulatory hurdles before proceeding with development. (OPB)

TRANSPORTATION

• The U.S. Transportation Department selects Utah to be a part of a Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft pilot program. (Utah News Dispatch)

UTILITIES

• Arizona utility Salt River Project prepares to elect new board members, but only Phoenix-area property owners can participate on a vote-per-acre basis. (New York Times)

• An energy watchdog scrutinizes Xcel Energy and other Western utilities for earning steadily increasing profits even as customer rates increase. (CPR)

GRID

• California’s grid operator proposes a funding plan for the independent Regional Organization for Western Energy that will oversee a planned day-ahead regional power market. (E&E News)

• Black Hills Energy completes construction on a 260-mile transmission project linking its South Dakota and Wyoming distribution grids. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)

STORAGE

• Data show California, Texas, and Arizona lead the nation for grid-scale battery energy storage capacity. (Canary Media)