Colorado regulators move to evict oil and gas firm

OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators consider blocking an oil and gas firm from operating in the state, seizing $317,000 in reclamation bonds and adding its 107 aging wells to the orphaned well program. (Colorado Sun)

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CLIMATE: California lawmakers introduce legislation that would allow climate change-related disaster victims and insurance companies to sue fossil fuel companies for damages. (Associated Press)

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BATTERIES: California researchers find unusually high concentrations of toxic metals in wetlands downwind of the Moss Landing battery energy storage facility that caught fire recently. (Mercury News)

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SOLAR: Wyoming lawmakers advance a bill that would open the door to slashing net metering compensation for rooftop solar after it was changed to exempt existing arrays. (WyoFile)

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UTILITIES:

• Pacific Gas & Electric and other power companies urge Congress to pass a forest management bill that would loosen regulations on utilities’ wildfire hazard mitigation work. (Utility Dive)
• Southern California Edison reports that it found a fault in its distribution grid in the moments before the ignition of the deadly Eaton Fire. (Associated Press)
• Federal investigators accuse Southern California Edison of suppressing evidence indicating its equipment sparked a 2017 wildfire, casting doubt on the utilities’ claims it is not responsible for recent Los Angeles-area blazes. (Los Angeles Times)

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POLITICS:

• Arizona policy analysts worry the Trump administration’s energy-related orders could harm the state’s solar and electric vehicle industries and exacerbate climate change. (Arizona Republic)
• Documents reveal Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum hosted fossil fuel CEOs at a dinner where he expressed support for oil and gas drilling and ​“clean coal” and skepticism toward clean energy. (DeSmog)
• Wyoming lawmakers vote to slash $70 million from a legal fund for challenging federal environmental and energy policies, citing a ​“less adversarial” presidential administration. (WyoFile)

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NUCLEAR:

• Utah lawmakers advance a bill aimed at fostering small modular nuclear reactor development to power a slew of new data centers planned for the state. (Deseret News)
• The Idaho National Laboratory finds excess thermal energy from nuclear reactors can be used to produce hydrogen and heat homes and businesses. (Daily Energy Insider)

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GRID: Southern New Mexico utility El Paso Electric joins SPP’s day-ahead regional power market. (news release)

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‍COMMENTARY:

• A California energy analyst says the state’s net metering policy did not kill the rooftop solar industry after all, and urges policymakers not to waste time trying to revise it. (Energy Institute Blog)
• A Wyoming analyst urges policymakers to lure data centers as a way to diversify the economy and utilize abundant energy resources. (WyoFile)

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