Utility lines prime suspect in Maui wildfires

UTILITIES: Security camera video and grid-monitoring data suggest Hawaiian Electric’s utility equipment sparked at least one of the deadly Maui wildfires. (Washington Post)

GRID:
• California regulators approve a plan to keep three natural gas power plants running until 2026 for use as backup during high electricity demand. (Politico)
• The U.S. Interior Department launches a $150 million program aimed at bringing electricity to homes in Indigenous communities. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE:
• California advocates call on state leaders to confront the fossil fuel industry and end reliance on natural gas and petroleum. (Los Angeles Times)
• California regulators adopt codes limiting the amount of ​“embodied” carbon in materials used in new large construction projects. (Planetizen)
• Some Colorado communities begin requiring homeowners to install solar panels or pay a climate fee to offset energy or carbon-intensive outdoor amenities such as hot tubs or driveway snow-melting systems. (Colorado Sun)

CLEAN ENERGY: A small Oregon town looks to adopt clean energy technologies and become more climate-resilient after suffering through increasingly frequent heat waves. (OPB)

WIND: Federal regulators designate two potential wind development lease areas off Oregon’s coast and convene a task force to narrow down sites and tackle related issues. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• A startup secures financing to establish a perovskite-coated solar glass manufacturing facility in southern California. (PV Tech)
• Commercial operations begin at a 75 MW solar installation in southern California that powers an electric vehicle charging network. (elektrek)

GEOTHERMAL: A developer begins geothermal exploratory work at a dormant volcano in Alaska. (KBBI)

OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on proposed oil and gas leases on about 600 acres in New Mexico and Oklahoma. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Arizona electric vehicle maker Nikola recalls 209 trucks to repair a battery pack flaw that can lead to fires. (CNBC)
• Seattle’s city council looks to expedite electric vehicle charger deployment by allowing the municipal utility to install stations on leased private property. (My Northwest)

COAL:
• A federal appeals court upholds Wyoming’s air pollution plans for a coal plant and rejects environmentalists’ petition to overturn the U.S. EPA’s approval of a regional haze plan for Utah coal plants. (Courthouse News, news release)
• Indigenous tribal nations in Idaho and Montana call on the Canadian government to clamp down on transboundary pollution from British Columbia coal mines. (Missoulian)

NUCLEAR: A Washington public utility opts out of a proposed nuclear reactor feasibility study, but remains open to using the power if such a facility is built. (Peninsula Daily News)

PUBLIC LANDS: Utah appeals a federal court’s dismissal of its lawsuit seeking to shrink or eliminate Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. (KSLTV)

COMMENTARY: A Wyoming conservationist says the Biden administration’s proposal to raise reclamation bonds on oil and gas wells will hold the industry accountable for its messes. (Casper Star-Tribune)