Trump moves to open Alaska reserves to drilling

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FOSSIL FUELS

• The U.S. Interior Department announces plans to open parts of the National Petroleum Reserve and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling. (Reuters)

• Taiwan signs a letter of intent to buy liquefied natural gas from a proposed pipeline and export terminal in Alaska. (Japan Times)

• A Utah town’s residents push back on a proposed coal mine, saying it would harm the area’s environment and recreation economy. (KSL)

• Portland, Oregon’s city council votes to pause a fuel storage terminal’s air quality permit and investigate the city’s relationship with the facility’s owner. (KOIN)

• Washington state lawmakers consider amending the clean energy code to allow utilities to buy wholesale power from unknown sources, including coal. (Capital Press)

• A federal study estimates three Wyoming basins contain nearly 50 million barrels of recoverable oil and 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas. (Cowboy State Daily)

GRID

• Federal regulators approve Southwest Power Pool’s proposed westward expansion, making it the first regional transmission organization to operate in both the Western and Eastern grids. (OK Energy Today)

• Idaho Power agrees to pay $800,000 to help restore areas burned in a 2024 wildfire sparked by the utility’s equipment. (Idaho Capital Sun)

• Private firms team up with Xcel Energy to deploy an advanced virtual power plant for the utility’s Colorado grid. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A former Colorado lawmaker and U.S. EPA administrator is picked to lead the state’s largest solar and storage industry group. (Colorado Sun)

STORAGE

• Analysts say Nevada’s policies and access to federal land have fueled a grid-scale battery energy storage boom in the state. (Cleanview)

CLIMATE

• Oregon lawmakers consider legislation that would bar new public pension investments in fossil fuel companies for five years. (Oregonian)

• California lawmakers consider a bill that would establish regulations for and lift a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines. (E&E News)

MINING

• President Trump signs an executive order aimed at expediting new uranium, copper, potash and gold mines on federal lands. (CNN)

TRANSPORTATION

• A Washington city replaces three diesel-fueled cars with electric vehicles as part of its plan to convert its entire fleet. (Peninsula Daily News)

NUCLEAR

• Colorado advocates and residents urge Gov. Jared Polis to veto a bill that would reclassify nuclear power as ​“clean energy,” saying it would divert funding from wind, solar and other renewable power sources. (Ark Valley Voice)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• As more New England officials call for cuts to clean energy programs to rein in high energy bills, advocates say those investments will save customers money in the long run, Sarah Shemkus reports.

• Dan McCarthy charts the 28 states that got more power from renewables than coal last year, marking a huge decline from just 20 years ago.