Utah plans nuclear reactor ​“ecosystem”

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NUCLEAR

• Holtec and Hi-Tech Solutions partner with Utah on a proposed hub for small modular nuclear reactor manufacturing, workforce training, and power generation in Brigham City. (Utah News Dispatch)

CLIMATE

• A federal appeals court pauses a new California law requiring large companies to report how climate change financially affects them, but allows another law requiring them to disclose carbon emissions to remain in place. (Associated Press)

GRID

• Rocky Mountain Power launches a probe of a multi-utility outage that left more than 100,000 customers in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota without power and sparked a coal power plant fire last week. (WyoFile)

• California regulators consider a proposed wildfire risk-mitigation rule that would require utilities to calculate the cost-benefit ratio of undergrounding lines versus other methods. (Politico)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A peer-reviewed study finds selenium contamination from Canada coal mines could threaten birds in Montana. (Science Line)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on a proposal to lease 75 oil and gas parcels on 33,850 acres in New Mexico and Texas in May 2026. (news release)

• A jet fuel pipeline in Washington state cracks, spilling an unknown amount of petroleum in an agricultural area near Everett. (Olympian)

• Investigators say a gas leak led to a southern California home explosion that injured eight people last weekend. (CBS News)

UTILITIES

• Montana’s Public Service Commission’s staff recommends denying NorthWestern Energy’s bid to recover $45 million in cost overruns for its Yellowstone County gas plant, saying the utility did not adequately evaluate more affordable options. (Daily Montanan)

• Nevada regulators reaffirm their approval of NV Energy’s daily demand rate design, spurring clean energy advocates to threaten legal action over its potential impact on rooftop solar customers. (Nevada Independent)

• Colorado electric cooperative United Power looks to local merchants and wholesalers to build up its generating capacity after exiting its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission. (Colorado Sun)

• Two officials ousted from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission file a whistleblower lawsuit accusing regulators of violating open meeting laws and wrongfully terminating them. (Idaho Statesman)

• A think tank finds about 161,000 Arizona households are ​“severely overdue” on paying utility bills, putting them at risk of losing power. (AZFamily)

DATA CENTERS

• Montana advocates file a complaint with state utility regulators challenging NorthWestern Energy’s plan to serve large load data centers, saying it could adversely affect existing ratepayers. (Daily Montanan, news release)

SOLAR

• Oregon State University researchers find floating solar systems cool surface waters but had mixed effects on aquatic species’ habitat. (news release)

GEOTHERMAL

• Zanskar says it has successfully drilled a geothermal well in northern Nevada using artificial intelligence as a guide. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

• Analysts say an experimental enhanced geothermal plant under development on an Oregon volcano could open the door to widespread use of the technology if it is successful. (Washington Post)

• Aspen, Colorado’s school district plans a feasibility study on a proposed geothermal heat pump system that would replace the current gas and electric heating and cooling equipment. (Think Geoenergy)

HYDROPOWER

• Fort Bragg, California, plans to begin testing the state’s first wave-powered water desalination system next year. (Mendocino Voice)

STORAGE

• Denver firm Peak Energy plans says it will supply 4.75 GWh of sodium-ion batteries to Jupiter Power over the next five years for projects in undisclosed locations. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Terawatt Infrastructure brings online its new medium- to heavy-duty electric truck charging hub in Rialto, California. (Electrek)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Batteries are helping Chattanooga keep the lights on — and bills low — Julian Spector

• Wisconsin lawmakers look to break utility grip on community solar — Kari Lydersen

• This Ohio county banned wind and solar. Now, residents are pushing back. — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• Data-center power forecasts climb to unreachable heights — Jeff St. John

• Chinese and European industry groups to decide on green-steel standards — Alexander C. Kaufman