GRID: A heat wave forecast to bring triple-digit temperatures to California and other western states this weekend is expected to strain the grid and increase natural gas spot prices. (Los Angeles Times, S&P Global)
ALSO: Northwest utilities agree to fund the Southwest Power Pool’s effort to develop a regional power market. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• Wyoming plans to join the federal Bureau of Land Management in defending a June oil and gas lease sale against environmentalists’ legal challenges. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Federal officials consider Endangered Species Act protections for a southern New Mexico lizard, a move that could affect Permian Basin oil and gas development. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• California lawmakers pass a bill requiring oil refiners to disclose per gallon profits for gasoline they sell. (news release)
NATURAL GAS:
• A Colorado utility will purchase power from the open market after it shuts down one of the nation’s last urban natural gas power plants this week. (Gazette)
• Oregon environmentalists file a petition urging federal regulators to reverse the approval of a proposed natural gas pipeline compressor station near the Columbia River. (East Oregonian)
CARBON CAPTURE: California environmentalists urge lawmakers to reject a bill that would expedite permitting for carbon capture projects. (LAist)
TRANSPORTATION:
• California equity advocates criticize the state’s gasoline car ban because it does not require auto dealers to participate in programs aimed at increasing lower-income households’ access to electric vehicles. (Associated Press)
• A California judge rejects Tesla’s bid to dismiss the state civil rights agency’s lawsuit alleging widespread racial discrimination at the company’s assembly plant in Fremont. (Reuters)
SOLAR:
• Hawaii advocates say the Inflation Reduction Act will rejuvenate the state’s stalled solar industry by reducing rooftop solar installation costs and creating “green collar” jobs. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, subscription)
• Arizona-based First Solar says the Inflation Reduction Act spurred its plans to spend $1.2 billion to expand its U.S. manufacturing operations. (Reuters)
• California lawmakers remove a monthly tax on rooftop solar from a bill that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant operating after industry and advocates protested the last-minute amendment. (Renewable Energy World)
UTILITIES:
• Northern California residents say PacifiCorp issued electricity bills for homes burned by a wildfire that may have been sparked by the utility’s equipment. (KTVU)
• Idaho Power says Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will help the utility reach its goal of building 1,700 MW of battery storage by 2045. (Idaho Capital Sun)
COAL: Oregon utility PGE plans to implode its shuttered Boardman coal power plant next month. (KFLD)
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