Colorado climate advocates divided over supply or demand policies

CLIMATE: Colorado climate advocates debate whether slashing fossil fuel demand, restricting oil and gas supplies or a combination of the two would be most effective in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. (Colorado Newsline)

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ALSO: Washington state lawmakers allocate $30 million to provide fuel surcharge rebates to farmers and truckers not exempted from the state’s carbon cap-and-invest program. (Washington State Standards)

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OIL & GAS:

• Advocates urge policymakers to require long-term monitoring of plugged oil and gas wells following an increase in failed plugging jobs. (Bloomberg Law)
• A $450 million hydraulic fracturing sand firm merger is expected to increase capacity and oil and gas production in the Permian Basin. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Wyoming officials resist oil and gas industry pressure and vote to establish protections for a significant wildlife migration corridor. (WyoFile)
• A study finds oil and gas flaring and venting-related air pollution disproportionately burdens low-income, Latino and Indigenous communities. (news release)
• A California lawmaker introduces a bill that would require oil and gas companies to plug up to 20% of their idle wells annually. (news release)

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SOLAR:

• New Mexico advocates are skeptical of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s claims that on-site solar cannot meet the facility’s growing power demand. (KUNM)
• Arizona regulators order a solar installation firm to pay $8.7 million in restitution for allegedly selling unregistered securities to foreign investors. (Arizona Daily Star)
• A developer secures financing for a 220 MW solar-plus-battery storage facility under construction in central Arizona. (Energy Storage News)

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WIND:

• The Yurok Tribe votes to oppose wind power development proposed off northern California’s coast, saying the 900-foot-tall turbines would harm sacred sites. (Siskiyou News)
• The U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation that would block federal agencies from advancing permitting for the controversial proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho. (Boise State Public Radio)

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CLEAN ENERGY: The Biden administration awards Mountain West tribal nations about $26 million to bring electricity to off-grid homes and fund clean energy systems. (KUNR)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A southern California port unveils the nation’s first all-electric tug boat and expects to begin operations next month. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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UTILITIES:

• Over 1,000 victims of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires plan to sue Hawaiian Electric and other entities, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. (Hawaii News Now)
• Two Montana Democrats and eight Republicans vie for three open seats on the state’s GOP-dominated utility regulatory commission. (Daily Montanan)
• An Alaska city contracts with an outside electric association to manage its municipal utility after an effort to sell the utility was voted down. (KDLL)

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TRANSITION: A Navajo Nation nonprofit looks to convert a defunct rail line connecting a decommissioned coal mine and power plant in northern Arizona into a running and cycling trail. (Navajo-Hopi Observer)

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ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado restaurants say switching from natural gas to electric induction stoves and ovens has improved their food quality and the kitchen atmosphere. (Rocky Mountain PBS)

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COMMENTARY: A Montana advocate urges the federal government to stop leasing land to oil and gas companies, saying drilling will harm the state’s growing outdoor recreation economy. (Montana Standard)

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