Utah power agency urges coal-friendly bill veto

COAL: The Intermountain Power Agency urges Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to veto legislation that would force the agency to sell its coal plant to the state to keep it operating beyond its scheduled retirement date, saying it could provoke a federal backlash. (Salt Lake Tribune)

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TRANSPORTATION: Colorado researchers find electric scooters are the most efficient means of commuting for limiting life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. (Colorado Sun)

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UTILITIES: New Mexico’s Supreme Court upholds regulators’ denial of a utility’s bid that would have allowed it to collect $5.2 million from ratepayers for exceeding mandated renewable energy targets. (Las Cruces Bulletin)

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SOLAR: A food manufacturing company installs solar-powered microgrids at six of its California bakeries expected to offset about 20% of the facilities’ energy use. (Deli Market News)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Washington state local officials urge the U.S. Energy Department to add clean industrial facilities and energy storage to its plans to develop solar at the Hanford nuclear site. (The Chronicle)

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HYDROPOWER: An advocacy group’s study finds four Northwest hydropower dams targeted for removal emit 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent of methane annually, casting doubt on claims they provide clean energy. (E&E News, subscription; news release)

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ENERGY STORAGE: A national lab identifies 1,800 sites in Alaska suitable for closed-loop pumped hydropower energy storage facilities. (news release)

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OIL & GAS:

• A California lawmaker introduces legislation that would require oil and gas companies to develop plans to plug some 40,000 idle wells, prioritizing those near vulnerable communities. (Santa Barbara Independent)
• Six Western states join 18 others in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the U.S. EPA’s new rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, claiming it is an attack on the industry. (Public Radio Tulsa)
• The Biden administration allocates $55 million to tribal nations to identify, plug and clean up abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells on their lands. (news release)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Los Angeles County receives $6 million in state funding to install 300 public electric vehicle chargers in underserved neighborhoods in East Los Angeles. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• California awards a company $3 million to pair a fleet of electric school buses with vehicle-to-grid technology, enabling their batteries to export power back to the grid. (news release)
• Tesla and a former Black employee reach a settlement in a long-running racial discrimination suit against the company, but disclose no details. (Associated Press)

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NUCLEAR:

• A Bill Gates-backed firm says it could begin construction of an advanced nuclear reactor in a Wyoming coal town as soon as this June. (Oil Price)
• A Wyoming coal-mining equipment manufacturer launches a nuclear micro-reactor startup, bolstering the state’s status as a focal point for the technology. (Cowboy State Daily)

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BIOFUELS: A Hawaii biofuel company expands its feedstock crops and considers developing a second refinery. (Hawaii Public Radio)

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COMMENTARY: A former U.S. lawmaker urges Washington state regulators to help tackle climate change by expediting solar and wind development rather than hampering clean power based on faulty science. (Seattle Times)

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