Alaska communities sue Biden over drilling ban

OIL & GAS: Native Alaska communities sue the Biden administration over its oil and gas drilling ban on 10.6 million acres in a national petroleum reserve, saying it violates federal laws. (Bloomberg Law)

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CLIMATE:

• California lawmakers agree to put a $10 billion bond on the November ballot that would fund programs aimed at mitigating climate change’s effects. (Associated Press)
• A court advances a whistleblower’s lawsuit claiming Washington state fired him after he warned the state’s carbon cap-and-invest program would raise gasoline prices. (E&E News, subscritption)

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ELECTRIFICATION: A fossil fuel trade group plans to file a lawsuit seeking to block Denver, Colorado’s building codes restricting natural gas appliances in commercial and multifamily buildings. (CPR)

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BATTERIES:

• A Utah battery maker advances plans to build a 1,000-employee manufacturing facility in Tucson, Arizona. (Arizona Daily Star)
• A company building an electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility outside Phoenix, Arizona, pauses development of a second energy storage production plant. (12 News)

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SOLAR:

• Meta moves forward with plans to build a data center in southern Wyoming that would be powered by a proposed 771 MW solar installation. (Cowboy State Daily)
• A Wyoming county’s concerns about road impacts delay construction on a proposed utility scale solar installation in the eastern part of the state. (Cowboy State Daily)  

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EFFICIENCY: The U.S. Energy Department awards California and Utah a total of $7.3 million to advance building decarbonization and other efficiency-oriented programs. (news release)

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GRID: Federal regulators approve incentives for Southern California Edison’s proposed transmission projects aimed at reducing congestion and increasing access to utility-scale solar. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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UTILITIES:

• Pacific Gas & Electric warns customers this week’s northern California heat wave is likely to trigger public power safety shutoffs aimed at reducing wildfire hazard. (KCRA)
• Arizona developers move a contentious proposed natural gas plant from a retirement community to a lower-income neighborhood, sparking environmental injustice concerns. (Arizona Republic)

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URANIUM:

• Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs says she does not plan on shutting down a newly reopened uranium mine near the Grand Canyon after advocates call on regulators to revoke the facility’s permits. (12 News)
• Advocates condemn a U.S. firm’s shipment of more than 130 tons of nuclear materials from Japan to Utah, saying the uranium mill where it is being reprocessed is serving as a radioactive waste dump. (KJZZ)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Observers expect an upcoming Hawaii energy strategy to suggest using liquefied natural gas generation as a bridge to help the state reach its 100% renewable energy goal. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

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COMMENTARY: After visiting a New Mexico oil and gas drilling site, an author and advocate concludes the “fossil fuel industry chases short-term profit and leaves long-term wreckage in its wake.”(Guardian)

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