Study: California rooftop solar saves residents $2.3 billion annually

SOLAR: A study finds California’s 17,000 MW of rooftop solar capacity saved residents about $2.3 billion on their utility bills this year, casting doubt on “cost-shift” arguments used to support net-metering rate cuts. (Canary Media)

‍

ALSO:

• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed 400 MW Purple Sage solar-plus-storage project in southern Nevada. (KSNV)
• New Mexico regulators extend a deadline for community solar projects to enroll a set percentage of low-income subscribers after the program’s rollout is delayed. (New Mexico Political Report)
• A developer withdraws three proposed solar-plus-storage installations from Hawaiian Electric’s latest energy procurement, citing the utility’s “ongoing financial uncertainty.” (Energy Storage News, subscription)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management releases its final environmental review of the proposed 600 MW Jove solar project in southwestern Arizona. (news release)
• A Colorado town brings a solar array online to power its municipal wastewater treatment plant, the community’s largest single electricity user. (Vail Daily)

‍

WIND:

• U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, calls on the incoming Trump administration to kill the proposed Lava Ridge wind project in the southern part of the state, saying local residents oppose it. (Heatmap)
• California officials advance a proposed floating offshore wind turbine assembly facility at a Los Angeles-area port. (North American Wind Power)

‍

STORAGE: Arizona Public Service agrees to purchase power from a proposed 250 MW battery energy storage system in central Arizona. (Solar Quarter)

‍

TRANSITION: Arizona utilities award three communities a total of $125,000 to help them weather coal plant retirements. (Independent)

‍

ELECTRIFICATION: Climate advocates say California and Washington state election losses for initiatives aimed at phasing out natural gas do not accurately reflect public sentiment on electrification. (Heatmap)

‍

CLIMATE: New documents reveal California’s oil and gas lobby pioneered strategies in the 1950s aimed at obscuring fossil fuel-burning’s contributions to pollution and climate change and downplaying the risks. (DeSmog)

‍

PUBLIC LANDS:

• President-elect Donald Trump picks fossil fuel-friendly North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department and oversee oil and gas drilling and coal mining on federal lands. (New York Times)
• Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon looks to the incoming Trump administration to ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the federal Bureau of Land Management’s proposed sage grouse management plan. (Wyoming Public Radio)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management revives a policy allowing it to apply wilderness-level protections and ban oil and gas drilling, new mining claims and other development on parcels of land. (E&E News, subscription)

‍

BIOFUELS: An Oregon city proposes a recycling facility that would produce pipeline-grade methane fuel from diverted organic waste. (OPB)

‍

MINING: Arizona advocates challenge the state land board’s approval of a pipeline right-of-way for a proposed copper mine in the southern part of the state. (AZ Mirror)

‍