Hawaii, youth plaintiffs settle landmark climate lawsuit

CLIMATE: Hawaii recognizes children’s constitutional right to a life-sustaining climate and steps up efforts to reach a goal of net-negative emissions by 2045 to settle a youths’ lawsuit targeting the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies. (Associated Press)

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HYDROPOWER: A rural Alaska community prepares to use federal funding to construct a run-of-the-river hydropower project aimed at reducing the village’s reliance on diesel generators. (KTOO)

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ELECTRIFICATION: A study finds California utilities could save about $20 billion over the next two decades by electrifying clusters of buildings instead of replacing their aging natural gas pipelines. (Utility Dive)

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STORAGE:

• Southern California residents raise concerns about three proposed battery energy storage systems after a fire burns in a similar facility for 17 days. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• A developer secures $513 million in financing for its proposed 1,200 MWh battery energy storage system in Arizona. (Electrek)

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UTILITIES:

• Arizona advocates challenge utility regulators’ decision to exempt a 200 MW natural gas plant expansion from environmental review, saying it upended precedent and misinterpreted state law. (Arizona Capitol Times)
• California lawmakers consider legislation aimed at reducing residents’ monthly electric utility bills by $10. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Colorado city’s municipal utility plans to double its power generating capacity over the next five years to meet growing demand. (Gazette)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A California firm looks to establish an electric air taxi company that would serve Bay Area commuters. (Mercury News)
• A California city installs public electric vehicle chargers in its downtown. (Times-Herald)

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OIL & GAS:

• Advocacy groups find oil and gas industry-operated methane emissions monitors are often offline and miss pollution events, casting doubt on the validity of natural gas certification programs. (news release)
• A company proposes a facility on Alaska’s North Slope that would use natural gas to produce methanol and ultra-low-sulfur diesel. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Permian Basin oil and gas producers look to avoid looming water shortages by recycling wastewater rather than injecting it underground, but advocates say it’s unsafe. (E&E News)

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PUBLIC LANDS: A federal Bureau of Land Management plan to expand protections on some public lands in western Colorado while leaving 855,300 acres open to oil and gas leasing draws mixed reviews from advocates. (news release)

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GRID: California’s grid operator begins shifting governance of its extended day-ahead power market to an independent entity. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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BIOFUELS: Nevada researchers find prickly pear cactus fruit are a climate-resilient source of biomass for fuel production. (news release)

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COAL: A Wyoming explosives maker says declining Powder River Basin coal production has driven down its sales by 19% this year. (Cowboy State Daily)

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COMMENTARY: A California editorial board calls on state lawmakers to require cooling equipment in residential rental units to keep occupants safe during increasingly frequent climate change-exacerbated heat events. (Los Angeles Times)

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