Feds greenlight the Greenlink West transmission line in Nevada

GRID: The federal Bureau of Land Management greenlights the controversial 350-mile Greenlink West transmission project and advances another proposed line; both are expected to expedite solar development in Nevada. (Nevada Independent)

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ALSO: Experts urge California regulators and lawmakers to craft policies aimed at better leveraging distributed energy resources, including electric vehicles, rooftop solar and residential battery systems, to reduce power costs. (Canary Media)

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SOLAR: The federal Bureau of Land Management approves the 700 MW Libra solar-plus-battery storage project in western Nevada and seeks public input on the proposed Bonanza solar array in the southern part of the state. (news release)

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POLLUTION: Colorado advocates criticize the U.S. EPA for backing off on ordering state regulators to obtain corporate polluters’ records and make them public. (Colorado Sun)

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OIL & GAS: A government watchdog agency calls on the U.S. Interior Department to tighten oversight of federal land oil and gas royalty payments. (Oil & Gas Journal)

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UTILITIES:

• A Western state power wholesaler says federal climate law funding helped prompt it to pivot from a coal-heavy energy mix to more clean energy. (E&E News)
• NV Energy warns customers in eastern Nevada that elevated fire danger may force it to implement public safety power outages. (Carson Now)

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BATTERIES:

• Southern California officials seek to assure the public a battery energy storage system fire in the San Diego area last week did not emit harmful levels of pollutants. (Voice of San Diego)
• California’s grid operator says adding new battery energy storage capacity helped the grid weather recent extreme heat-related energy demand spikes. (E&E News, subscription)

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NUCLEAR: A Bill Gates-backed company hopes to spark a U.S. nuclear plant building boom with construction of its proposed advanced reactor in a Wyoming coal community. (Laramie Boomerang)

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MINING: The federal Bureau of Land Management will begin notifying tribal nations when mineral exploration work is proposed for federal lands and preemptively identify and address potential conflicts. (news release)

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BIOFUELS: A Hawaii petroleum company proposes a biofuel production facility at the site of its oil refinery in Oahu. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription)

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COMMENTARY:

• An Oregon advocate urges state regulators to finalize its retooled climate protection program, saying it will help reduce emissions and create nearly 10,000 jobs. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• A Colorado advocate calls on state regulators to force Xcel Energy to stop foisting its coal plant’s costs onto its ratepayers, calling it “abuse” and “rate extortion.”(Colorado Sun)

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