Wyoming judge says Biden’s oil and gas leasing pause was legal

OIL & GAS: A federal judge in Wyoming rules the Biden administration’s oil and gas leasing pause was legal since it was intended to be a temporary reprieve for considering potential environmental impacts. (Reuters)

ALSO: Wyoming and federal officials plan to tap federal funds to plug and reclaim more than 2,300 orphaned oil and gas wells on state, private and public land. (WyoFile)

COAL:
• New Mexico regulators work on a rule that would limit power plant carbon emissions to 1,100 pounds per MWh and effectively block a firm’s bid to keep the San Juan coal plant running for years while it installs carbon capture equipment. (NM Political Report)
• Northern Cheyenne tribal officials call on regulators to require the Colstrip power plant’s operators to clean up the 800-acre coal ash facility in Montana — a project that could employ hundreds after the plant shuts down. (Energy News Network) 

HEAT WAVE:
• Southern Utah utilities urge residents to reduce electricity use in the afternoons as triple digit temperatures continue to strain the grid. (St. George News)
• San Diego Gas & Electric says high temperatures affected utility equipment this weekend, leaving more than 10,000 customers without power. (KGTV)
• Overheating transformers leave more than 22,000 PG&E customers without power in California’s Bay Area as all-time high temperature records are shattered. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• California grid operators predict a prolonged heat wave will drive electricity demand up to record-high levels today as people return to work, potentially overloading the system. (Los Angeles Times)
• A severe windstorm damages a high-voltage transmission line in western Arizona, leaving more than 36,000 residents without power. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Researchers find Black, Latino and Indigenous households are at disproportionately high risk of having their power cut off due to nonpayment. (Grist)
• A southern California county calls for an independent investigation of a controversial community choice power authority, saying it will withdraw membership if it doesn’t agree to the review. (Voice of OC)
• Arizona’s largest utility says it will lean on new and existing nuclear power sources, battery storage and hydrogen-fueled power plants to become carbon free by 2050. (Arizona Daily Sun)
• A California jury awards a record payout to the victims of a 2015 Pacific Gas & Electric natural gas pipeline explosion. (Bakersfield Californian)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A Colorado electricity co-op and a California firm install fast electric vehicle chargers paired with battery storage in the state’s rural areas. (Big Pivots)
• California allocates $10 million for an incentive program aimed at helping low-income residents purchase electric bikes. (KPBS)

HYDROPOWER:
• A California startup says its wave energy technology successfully concluded a 10-month pilot test and will now undergo further testing at an Oregon facility. (CleanTechnica)
• Federal officials say releasing extra water from upstream reservoirs will no longer be enough to keep Lake Powell’s levels from dropping below the minimum for power production. (Gazette)