A New Mexico rural electricity co-op leads a fossil fuel phaseout

CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates credit a small northern New Mexico electric cooperative with paving the way for other rural utilities to ditch fossil fuels. (High Country News)

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SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed 117 MW Sapphire solar-plus-storage project in southern California. (news release)

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LITHIUM: The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony looks to build coalitions and garner public support — rather than file lawsuits — to fight the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada. (Associated Press)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Montana school districts and transit agencies look to purchase more electric buses, finding they perform better and are cheaper to run than their diesel counterparts. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
• Colorado plans to pause and retool its popular electric bicycle rebate program after burning through its funding far sooner than expected. (CPR)

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UTILITIES:

• Arizona advocates bash state regulators for approving a proposed natural gas plant expansion without public input. (12 News)
• Utah advocates push back on Rocky Mountain Power’s 20-year resource plan, saying it relies too heavily on unproven advanced nuclear reactors. (Salt Lake Tribune, subscription)
• Wyoming regulators delay ruling on a natural gas utility’s proposed rate hike over concerns about its marketing program. (WyoFile)

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CLIMATE:

• California advocates criticize a state program incentivizing biomethane fuel production from cow manure, saying it increases rather than decreases greenhouse gas emissions. (Inside Climate News)
• California’s largest greenhouse gas polluters, including refineries, power plants and factories, decreased emissions slightly in 2023, but advocates say it is not enough to slow climate change. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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CARBON CAPTURE: Alaska researchers launch an $11 million study of the viability of a proposed 400 MW coal plant equipped with carbon capture. (Northern Journal)

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NUCLEAR: An advanced nuclear fuel startup seeks a property tax break from a Washington city to incentivize its $39 million manufacturing facility expansion. (Tri-City Herald)

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GRID: Researchers find the Pacific Northwest is susceptible to sudden drops in solar and wind production, or but these energy droughts would be less severe than in other regions due to an abundance of hydropower. (OPB)

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OIL & GAS:

• New Mexico proposes new regulations for reusing oil and gas wastewater for drilling and other industrial applications. (Associated Press)
• Washington state advocates say two petroleum spills in recent months demonstrate the risk of accidents at oil refineries located on tribal lands. (Seattle Times)
• Wyoming wildlife officials attribute the long-term decline of a mule deer herd partly to oil and gas development in the Powder River Basin. (WyoFile)
• A conservation group says the federal Bureau of Land Management has imperiled the lesser prairie chicken by repeatedly exempting Permian Basin oil and gas operators from measures aimed at protecting the endangered bird. (NM Political Report)
• Navajo Nation residents question the pace and scale of an oil pipeline spill cleanup in northern New Mexico. (KSJD)

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