Xcel plans battery project at retiring Colorado coal plant

STORAGE: Xcel Energy plans to build a football-field-sized, 10 MW iron-air battery storage installation near the Comanche coal power plant in Colorado. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO:
• A Utah company applies to federal regulators for a license for its proposed 900 MW pumped hydropower storage project in southern Wyoming. (Power)
• NV Energy seeks proposals for large-scale dispatchable energy and energy storage projects. (Energy Storage News)
• A California startup begins manufacturing thermophotovoltaic cells that convert heat to electricity for energy storage applications at its Sunnyvale facility. (PV Magazine)

SOLAR:
• Wyoming lawmakers advance a bill that would repeal mandatory net metering payments for rooftop solar power generation. (WyoFile)
• The 120 MW Jackpot Solar project, Idaho’s largest, goes into commercial operation. (news release)

OIL & GAS:
• The oil and gas industry petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a 2022 ruling upholding a ban on new unconventional offshore drilling and hydraulic fracturing off the California coast. (E&E News)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management agrees to conduct additional environmental and historical analyses of 32 oil and gas leases in southeastern Utah to settle a conservation group’s legal challenge. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• A watchdog group finds oil refineries release billions of pounds of pollution annually into waterways nationwide, with especially high concentrations in California, the Gulf Coast and Chicago. (NPR)
• An analysis commissioned by conservation groups finds oil and gas companies operating on federal and tribal lands lost $500 million worth of methane — or natural gas — in 2019 through flaring, venting and leaks. (news release)

UTILITIES: Arizona environmental justice advocates applaud a court’s ruling upholding regulators’ rejection of Salt River Project’s proposed natural gas plant expansion in a historically Black community. (KJZZ)

COAL:
• Southwest Colorado and Navajo Nation residents who heat with coal struggle to find fuel sources after a local mine’s production drops. (Durango Telegraph)
• Coal producer Peabody donates $500,000 to a University of Wyoming program researching carbon capture and non-combustion applications for coal. (Wyoming Public Radio)

NUCLEAR:
• New Mexico lawmakers vote to advance a bill that would block a proposed interim spent nuclear reactor fuel repository in the southeastern part of the state. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• California startup Oklo asks federal regulators to approve a license for a proposed nuclear fuel recycling facility. (EcoWatch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Oregon lawmakers consider a bill that would offer up to $1,700 instant rebates for electric bicycle purchases. (BikePortland)
• California regulators plan to establish regulations that would evaluate the reliability and availability of public electric vehicle charging stations. (Teslarati)
• LG Energy Solution says it is in ​“active discussions” to supply batteries from its proposed Arizona manufacturing facility to Tesla and other electric vehicle companies. (Reuters)

GRID:
• Some northern California residents remain without power more than two weeks after storms toppled trees into utility equipment and caused widespread outages. (East Bay Times)
• Arizona lawmakers consider a bill that would increase penalties for damaging utility infrastructure. (AZ Mirror)

CLEAN ENERGY: Oregon regulators tighten oversight of a state clean fuels program after an entrepreneur fraudulently obtains $1.8 million worth of carbon credits. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

COMMENTARY: A journalist argues covering big box stores and parking lots with solar panels would avoid the need to build utility-scale installations on Western public lands. (High Country News)