Western Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition is curated by Jonathan Thompson.
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SOLAR: Thousands of Colorado residents are enrolling in a state community solar initiative that offers free solar hookups after regulators reject Xcel Energy’s request to pause the program. (Colorado Sun)
ALSO: • An Alaska municipality is considering offering a property tax exemption to developers of a 60,000-panel solar plant being proposed for the Kenai Peninsula. (KDLL)• Tucson, Arizona, organizations are launching a program to fund solar installations for small nonprofit organizations. (Arizona Daily Star)
UTILITIES: • Arizona regulators will vote on the proposed expansion of a Salt River Project natural gas plant near a historically black community in the southern part of the state. (NBC News) • A New Mexico electricity cooperative cuts rates by 25% after terminating its contract with Tri-State Generation & Transmission and obtaining a new wholesale energy supplier. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
OIL & GAS: • New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signs legislation to provide $500 to each resident to offset rising fuel costs. (Associated Press) • New Mexico oil and gas officials say drilling activity has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels despite high prices, as companies return profits to shareholders instead of investing in new projects. (Capital & Main)• A New Mexico environmental organization identifies 6,000 oil and gas wells in the state that have not been produced in at least a year. (Carlsbad Current-Argus) • An Alaska energy expert predicts that the high costs and risks associated with starting new projects in the region will prevent rising oil prices from triggering a drilling boom in the state. (KTOO)
TRANSPORT: • Conservative groups in Colorado are suing the state over new road user fees designed to raise funds for infrastructure repairs, transportation systems and electric vehicle incentives. (Greeley Tribune) • High gas prices are driving a huge growth in bike buying in Seattle, industry officials say. (The Denver Canal)
COAL:• A Utah municipal utility is considering purchasing power from a New Mexico company in hopes of retiring coal plants by installing carbon capture equipment. (Utah Public Radio) • Talen Energy, the operator and co-owner of Montana’s Colstrip power plant, is withdrawing from a lawsuit over a state law preventing the plant’s shutdown as the company reportedly prepares for bankruptcy. (Independent report)
HYDROPOWER: Drought-reduced water levels have halved Glen Canyon Dam’s hydroelectricity generating capacity since the 1990s and could halt electricity production altogether within a few years. (Highland News)
NUCLEAR: US Senator John Barrasso introduces a bill that would require the Energy Department to accelerate domestic production of advanced nuclear reactor fuel. (Casper Star Stand)
LITHIUM: Mining industry officials say the Biden administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to boost production of mineral batteries for electric vehicles will not yield significant benefits unless environmental permits are relaxed. (E&E News)
COMMENT: A Colorado energy journalist says the shutdown-plagued Comanche 3 coal plant isn’t doing its primary job: ensuring grid reliability. (Large pivots)
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Jonathan is from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the country, cultures and communities of the western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the summary of Western Energy News. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor to High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues of critical importance to the West.