Xcel to pay $640 million over 2021 Colorado blaze

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UTILITIES

• Xcel Energy agrees to pay victims of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado $640 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its equipment sparked the destructive blaze, but denies any wrongdoing. (Courthouse News, Colorado Sun)

GRID

• Energy policy experts say proposed Western day-ahead power markets will increase grid reliability and economic efficiency while driving down power costs. (High Country News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction a coal lease on 3,508 acres adjacent to the West Antelope mine in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, sparking advocates’ criticism. (Inside Climate News, news release)

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says his department is likely to subsidize the proposed $44 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas pipeline and export terminal project ​“with credit support, or whatever.” (E&E News)

• New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana oil and gas industry executives say low commodity prices and uncertainty around the Trump administration’s chaotic trade policies are hampering drilling and production. (Reuters)

• The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to auction 46 oil and gas parcels on 68,203 acres in Utah this December, and seeks public input on a proposal to offer an additional 59 tracts next March. (news release, news release)

• The Navajo Transitional Energy Company issues a $3.15 million dividend generated from coal mines in the Powder River Basin and New Mexico to its sole shareholder, the Navajo Nation. (news release)

• LED Enterprises proposes a 140-mile pipeline in southwestern Arizona to transport natural gas to Mexico. (Pipeline & Gas Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• California environmental and labor advocates call on Los Angeles’ transit agency to convert its compressed natural gas bus fleet to zero-emission electric ones more quickly, saying the current 3.5% rate is an embarrassment. (Orange County Register)

• Data show zero-emissions truck sales in California increased by 7% last year compared to 2023, with medium-duty vehicles dominating sales. (E&E News)

• California regulators vote to repeal its zero-emission purchasing rule for private heavy-duty truck fleets, a formality in the wake of the Trump administration revoking the state’s stricter-than-federal rule waiver. (Politico)

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces the state has over 201,000 publicly available EV charging ports, outnumbering gasoline nozzles by 68%. (Fox 40)

NUCLEAR

• California advanced reactor startup Oklo’s stock price soars after the Trump administration issues pro-nuclear energy orders, but critics say the hype is overblown and based on flimsy price projections. (E&E News)

HYDROGEN

• A southern California transit agency plans to acquire 19 hydrogen fuel cell buses and build a new fueling depot at its Arcadia bus yard. (news release)

CRITICAL MATERIALS

• The Trump administration seeks an up to 10% equity stake in Lithium Americas in exchange for lengthening the repayment period on a $2.26 billion federal loan for the firm’s proposed Thacker Pass mine in Nevada. (Nevada Current)

• The U.S. Geologic Survey and nine Western states begin studying the feasibility of extracting critical minerals from legacy mining waste piles. (news release)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Can climate comedy still work? This offshore wind ad suggests it can. — Clare Fieseler

• Chart: Check out how fast China is shifting to renewables — Dan McCarthy

• Sweden’s Stegra to supply green steel for Microsoft’s data centers — Maria Gallucci

• Virtual power plants may soon provide more electricity to Illinois’ grid — Kari Lydersen

• North Carolina funds repairs so Helene-hit homes can get energy upgrades — Elizabeth Ouzts