Trump opens Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration opens 1.56 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain to new oil and gas leasing, reversing Biden-era restrictions. (New York Times, news release)

• The Trump administration reportedly plans to open federal waters along California’s coast to oil and gas drilling, drawing sharp rebukes from congressional Democrats. (Politico, E&E News)

• California residents and advocates continue to call for the closure of the Los Angeles-area Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility ten years after the site experienced the nation’s largest methane blowout on record. (Los Angeles Times)

• U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, Wyoming Republicans, introduce legislation that would permanently scrap an Obama-era ban on new federal coal leasing. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• Nevada’s Bureau of Consumer Protection urges regulators to rescind its approval of NV Energy’s peak demand charge, saying state law bans utilities from requiring time-of-use rates without the customer’s consent. (Nevada Current)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Washington state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council recommends the governor approve the proposed 160 MW Carriger solar-plus-storage facility after the developers agree to provide the Yakama Nation’s cultural resource program a $100,000 grant. (Washington State Standard)

• Recurrent Energy secures $825 million in financing for its proposed Desert Bloom and Papago solar-plus-storage facilities in Maricopa County, Arizona. (news release)

GEOTHERMAL

• Colorado firm Coba looks to heat and cool its planned Denver bathhouse with electric geothermal heat pumps. (Denverite)

• A federal Bureau of Land Management geothermal lease sale in Nevada brings in $9.44 million in bids for 86 parcels. (Think Geoenergy)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Data show EV and plug-in hybrids made up 32.4% of Colorado’s new vehicle purchases during the third quarter of the year, but officials expect sales to drop off now that federal incentives have expired. (Colorado Sun)

• California electric truck and SUV maker Rivian plans to lay off more than 600 employees now that federal EV tax credits have expired. (Los Angeles Times)

NUCLEAR

• Wyoming residents and officials continue to debate changing state law to allow for onsite spent nuclear reactor fuel storage after Radiant canceled its proposed microreactor manufacturing facility near Casper. (WyoFile)

• Anfield Resources plans to break ground on its planned Velvet-Wood uranium mine in southeastern Utah after receiving accelerated federal and state permits. (The Journal)

• Thor Energy agrees to use DISA Technologies’ ablation technology to recover uranium from abandoned mine waste dumps in Colorado. (news release)

MINERALS

• Ramaco Resources breaks ground on its pilot rare earth oxides processing plant and laboratory near Sheridan, Wyoming. (news release)

DATA CENTERS

• Joule plans to begin construction next month on its hyperscale data center and 1,300 MW natural gas power plant in Millard County, Utah. (Deseret News)

CLIMATE

• Washington state cancels a rebate program that compensated farmers who paid unfair fuel surcharges under its Climate Commitment Act. (Washington State Standard)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Trump claims ​‘wind mills’ kill whales but quietly torpedoes the science — Clare Fieseler

• Chart: Solar is driving renewable energy to new heights around the globe — Dan McCarthy

• Why one Ohio couple is suing their city over rooftop solar fees — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• North Carolina mulls how to manage power demand from data centers — Elizabeth Ouzts