Trump orders Washington coal plant to continue operating

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COAL

• The Trump administration orders the Centralia coal plant in Washington to continue operating beyond its scheduled Dec. 31 closure even though a state law requires utilities to stop burning coal at the end of the year. (Seattle Times)

ELECTRIFICATION

• California regulators approve a plan to spend $115 million over the next six years to develop and drive demand for ultra-efficient plug-in heat pumps and battery-equipped induction stoves in an effort to expand renters’ and low-income residents’ access to electrification. (Canary Media)

OVERSIGHT

• The Navajo Nation advances a proposal to establish a standalone, centralized energy office that would oversee all types of development. (Tribal Business News)

DATA CENTERS

• Oregon’s Citizens’ Utility Board accuses Portland General Electric of attempting to skirt a new state law requiring utilities to create a separate rate class for data centers to ensure their costs aren’t shifted to other customers. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

• California startup GridCARE finds that large data centers can reduce grid strain and overall utility costs by incorporating ​“modest amounts of flexibility” during peak demand. (Utility Dive)

• Northwestern New Mexico officials tout the region’s abundant natural gas resources to lure new data centers. (The Journal)

• A developer agrees to install rooftop solar, EV charging infrastructure, and other environment-related measures at its proposed data center in Pittsburg, California, to settle an advocacy group’s lawsuit. (news release)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The Westlands Water District votes to install solar arrays on about one-fourth of its agricultural land in California’s Central Valley, saying it is a ​“survival strategy” for water-constrained farmers. (Politico)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management advances the proposed Libra solar installation in southwestern Nevada after it languished in regulatory limbo for over a year. (E&E News)

• A northern California vineyard brings a floating solar system online to power 100% of its operations. (news release)

• Solar shingle manufacturer GAF Energy plans to close its facility in San Jose, California, and relocate to Texas. (Solar Power World)

UTILITIES

• Xcel Energy plans to implement public safety power outages across Colorado’s Front Range in an effort to mitigate fire hazard during unseasonably warm and dry conditions. (CPR)

• Montana’s Public Service Commission withdraws from a federal case on NorthWestern Energy’s bid to take majority ownership of the Colstrip coal plant after finding errors in its filing. (Daily Montanan)

OIL & GAS

• Wyoming advocates push back on the federal Bureau of Land Management’s ​“bonus” oil and gas lease sale later this month re-offering about 26,000 acres in Wyoming that failed to attract bids at an early December auction. (Wyoming Public Radio, County 10)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 39 proposed oil and gas leases covering about 54,000 acres in Utah. (news release)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management greenlights Unionville Royalty Company’s proposed oil and gas exploratory drilling in Railroad Valley, Nevada. (news release)

• Environmental advocates call on New Mexico regulators to hold Chevron and ExxonMobil accountable for allegedly illegal air pollution that is driving up ozone levels in the Permian Basin. (news release)

• Idaho’s Land Department schedules a public hearing on proposed oil and gas drilling in a residential area in the western part of the state. (Argus Observer)

• Aztec, New Mexico’s city council approves Hilcorp’s proposed oil and gas wells within town limits. (Tri-City Record)

CLIMATE

• A nonprofit finds California’s cleaner transportation fuels, and solar and battery storage deployment drove a 3% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, one of the largest year-over-year reductions ever seen in the state. (KQED)

• Washington state’s cap-and-invest program pollution allowance prices hit a record high, prompting some officials to consider softening compliance deadlines. (E&E News)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• California’s plan to boost plug-in heat pumps and induction stoves — Alison F. Takemura

• Nippon Steel’s U.S. investments​‘at a crossroads’ — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Texas’ energy market redesign could leave battery developers in limbo — Julian Spector

• North Carolina training site pairs sheep grazing with solar. — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Climate group files complaint against global steel giant ArcelorMittal — Maria Gallucci