UTILITIES: Arizona’s attorney general joins environmentalists in a lawsuit challenging state regulators’ decision to exempt a proposed 200 MW natural gas plant from environmental review. (KJZZ)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

  • California lawmakers pass legislation authorizing regulators to require manufacturers to equip electric vehicles with bidirectional chargers that can send power back to the grid. (E&E News, subscription)
  • A California luxury electric boat startup looks to ramp up production and make the crafts available to a wider audience. (Associated Press) 

ELECTRIFICATION: California lawmakers pass legislation aimed at encouraging building electrification by increasing gas utilities’ transparency on fossil fuel investments and authorizing zero-emission pilot projects. (news releases)

URANIUM: The Navajo Nation adopts emergency legislation to strengthen radioactive material transportation regulations after an Arizona mine began shipping uranium ore across tribal land to a Utah mill. (Associated Press)

COAL: The Biden administration awards New Mexico $2.4 million to clean up abandoned coal mines. (KUNM) 

STORAGE: A startup plans to test its limestone-pellet thermal energy storage technology in Alaska next year. (Northern Journal)

GRID: 

  • A southern California utility shuts off power to a Los Angeles-area community in an effort to reduce wildfire risk as landslides threaten power lines. (City News Service)
  • New Mexico’s largest utilities remain undecided about which of two competing day-ahead regional power markets to join after a study finds they don’t need to follow Arizona’s lead to realize the greatest benefits. (New Mexico Political Report, RTO Insider, subscription)

OIL & GAS: 

HYDROGEN: The Biden administration awards a Washington state startup $4.24 million to develop its hydrogen-electric aviation engines. (Biofuels Digest)

BIOFUELS: The Biden administration awards a Washington state refinery $26.8 million to begin producing sustainable aviation fuel from biomass feedstocks.  (Biofuels Digest)

GEOTHERMAL: California lawmakers pass legislation aimed at streamlining geothermal development by allowing counties to assume the state’s permitting role. (Think Geoenergy)

HYDROPOWER: An Alaska Native village and Democratic state lawmakers look to delay reauthorization of a hydropower dam for two years in the hope of ultimately decommissioning the facility. (Must Read Alaska)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.