Utah lawmakers allow state to purchase coal plant

COAL: Utah lawmakers pass a bill that would allow the state to purchase a coal power plant slated to transition to natural gas and hydrogen production in coming years. (Deseret News)

OIL & GAS: 

• Colorado environmental justice advocates say a Denver-area refinery’s $10.5 million pollution settlement fails to address the root causes of the facility’s problems. (Rocky Mountain PBS)
• An Arizona nonprofit finds orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells threaten cultural resources in the Southwest and urge the Biden administration to update federal reclamation bonding requirements to mitigate the harm. (news release; E&E News, subscription)

WIND:

• California developers say the 22-year planning, permitting and construction timeline for a new wind power facility on the state’s coast illustrates the challenges for the industry. (Politico)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a proposed 150 MW battery storage system at a wind facility in southern California. (news release)

SOLAR:

• A Colorado city plans to build a floating solar panel-fed microgrid with battery storage to power a water treatment if federal funding comes through. (Colorado Sun)
• A California public power authority agrees to purchase electricity from the Bonanza solar-plus-battery storage facility under construction in Nevada. (Energy Storage News)
• A 1.7 MW warehouse rooftop solar installation goes online in Los Angeles as part of the municipal utility’s feed-in tariff program. (news release)

UTILITIES:

• Puget Sound Energy proposes a 17% rate hike to help fund upgrades to a hydroelectric dam and construction of a wind facility in Montana. (Seattle Times)
• Colorado advocates say a utility’s search for new power generation from ​“all resources” is not enough to avoid constructing a new natural gas fired facility. (Coloradoan)
• Hawaiian Electric seeks public input on its next round of clean energy capacity procurements. (news release)
• An Arizona utility seeks proposals to develop 1,200 MW of new peak generating capacity and 2,500 MW of carbon-free power by 2029. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A company shuts down its 425-employee electric bus manufacturing facility in southern California, citing supply chain constraints and rising costs. (Mercury News)

TRANSPORTATION: The Biden administration awards Colorado $84 million to support public transit. (KDVR)

CLIMATE:

• A study finds human-caused climate change cost U.S. ski areas $5 billion from 2000-2019. (Associated Press)
• Washington state lawmakers pass a bill that would allow the state’s cap-and-trade program to link up with California’s and Quebec’s shared system. (RTO Insider, subscription)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. House passes a bill that would streamline advanced nuclear reactor permitting and support developers in overcoming regulatory hurdles. (Deseret News)

HYDROGEN: Chevron plans to develop a 5 MW solar-powered hydrogen production facility in California’s Central Valley. (Solar Industry Magazine)