Feds to loan $2 billion to Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada

MINING: The U.S. Energy Department conditionally agrees to loan more than $2 billion to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine under development in northern Nevada. (Associated Press)

‍

ALSO:

• Nevada advocates worry planned lithium extraction projects could harm a 24,000-acre network of interconnected springs, streams and aquifers at and around a national wildlife refuge. (Las Vegas Sun)
• A company seeks $456 million in financing to fund its proposed rare earth minerals mining project in Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)

‍

BATTERIES: Hawaii lawmakers consider legislation aimed at encouraging or requiring automakers to recycle spent electric vehicle batteries. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

‍

CLIMATE: An analysis predicts California cannot meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2030 unless it triples efforts to slash carbon emissions, attributing the backslide to a post-pandemic surge in driving and electricity demand. (Los Angeles Times)

‍

WIND: Oregon regulators seek public input on a proposed 300 MW wind facility in the northeastern part of the state. (East Oregonian)

‍

SOLAR:

• An eastern Colorado county greenlights a proposed 200 MW solar-plus-battery storage facility on private ranchland. (Fort Morgan Times)
• A developer proposes a 170 MW solar installation on private land in rural southern Colorado. (Valley Courier)

‍

CLEAN ENERGY:

• An Arizona utility says Google’s agreement to purchase wind and solar energy to power its new Phoenix-area data center will help the utility transition to clean energy. (KJZZ)
• A southern California county considers two proposed solar-plus-storage projects with a combined 870 MW capacity and a partly solar-powered micro-steel mill equipped with carbon capture. (Bakersfield Californian)

‍

OIL & GAS:

• Officials are monitoring impacts after a U.S. Coast Guard vessel accidentally discharged 500 gallons of diesel fuel off the northern California coast. (CNN)
• As trains haul increasing volumes of crude oil through the Columbia Gorge in the Northwest, officials prepare for a catastrophic spill many residents fear is inevitable. (The Columbian)

‍

FOSSIL FUELS: A Utah researcher predicts the state’s coal, oil and natural gas production will continue to climb in the near future even as new hydrogen, geothermal and solar facilities come online. (Deseret News)

‍

UTILITIES: San Diego public power advocates predict establishing a municipal utility would cost $3.5 billion, but current utility SDG&E estimates it could amount to nearly three times as much. (San Diego Union-Tribune, subscription)

‍

NUCLEAR:

• Oregon small modular reactor firm NuScale shifts from providing grid-scale power facilities to catering to “enormous energy consumers” such as data centers. (Utility Dive)
• The U.S. Senate strips language from an appropriations bill that would have blocked a proposed interim spent nuclear reactor fuel depository in southeastern New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

‍