PacifiCorp urges states to limit utilities’ wildfire liabilities

UTILITIES: PacifiCorp’s parent company plans to sell off some assets if states do not limit utilities’ wildfire-related liabilities, saying it will not “throw good money after bad” as it faces a flurry of blaze-related lawsuits. (E&E News)

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ALSO:

• Hawaiian Electric shareholders prepare to vote on executives’ substantial compensation increases last year amid the deadly Maui wildfires and plummeting stock prices. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• Montana residents file a lawsuit accusing county officials of improperly railroading a proposed natural gas plant through the approval process and stifling public input. (Daily Montanan)

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OIL & GAS:

• Alaska regulators come under fire for not forcing petroleum companies to demolish and remove idled offshore drilling platforms in the Cook Inlet, some of which have not produced oil since the 1980s. (Alaska Public Media)
• Alaska lawmakers consider closing a loophole that exempts private oil and gas companies from state corporate taxes, saying the change would generate about $100 million from Hillcorp alone. (Anchorage Daily News, subscription)
• The U.S. EPA issues a final rule aimed at strengthening, expanding and updating oil and gas companies’ methane emission reporting requirements. (news release)
• Colorado’s Supreme Court rules that property owners retain mineral rights under roadways adjacent to their land, saying the decision will prevent a flood of litigation. (Colorado Politics)

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STORAGE: Observers expect the nation’s grid-scale battery storage capacity to double this year, with California, Arizona and Texas seeing the largest growth. (New York Times)

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SOLAR: The SunPower solar company lays off another 71 workers at one of its southern California facilities. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management nears a decision on a proposed wind facility in southern Idaho that would be visible from a World War II-era incarceration camp and national historic site. (E&E News, subscription)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The nation’s first solar-powered electric big-rig charging depot opens in southern California. (KBAK)

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GRID: Unusually strong winds batter utility equipment in Colorado, leaving at least 10,000 customers without power. (CPR)

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TRANSPORTATION:

• Colorado lawmakers pass a bill revoking multifamily transit-oriented development’s minimum parking requirements, saying it would curb sprawl and expand housing options. (news release)
• New Mexico awards UPS $73,222 to replace 16 diesel delivery vehicles with compressed natural gas ones. (Albuquerque Journal)

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COMMENTARY:

• A Washington state editorial board urges Gov. Jay Inslee to approve the controversial proposed Horse Heaven wind-plus-solar-plus-storage facility, saying the only alternative is to keep legacy fossil fuel plants running. (Seattle Times)
• An Alaska advocate blasts a proposed 400 MW coal plant with carbon capture, saying it is too expensive, the technology is unproven and it will exacerbate the climate crisis ravaging the state. (Anchorage Daily News)

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