The U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the 450-MW Quartzite Solar Project in Riverside County, one of a handful of new solar and wind projects, as well as a geothermal facility, planned throughout the West in the near future.
Calgren Dairy Fuels and Southern California Gas Co. now have four additional Central Valley dairies sending cow-manure-generated methane to Calgren's biogas operation in Pixley, the companies announced Jan. 13. The methane is further processed into renewable natural gas, which is injected in…
To mark the end of his first year in office, a coalition of environmental, public-health and other advocacy groups sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter urging him "to take bolder action" and asking him to declare a climate emergency.
The California Independent System Operator is making some changes at the senior level, promoting Neil Millar, who had been serving as executive director of infrastructure development, to the position of vice president of transmission planning and infrastructure development, where he will ove…
Public Utilities Commission of Nevada member Hayley Williamson on Jan. 1 was elevated by Gov. Steve Sisolak to the role of chairwoman of the commission. Sisolak appointed Williamson to the three-member PUCN in April 2019, but Williamson has worked at the commission since 2013, serving as sen…
Xcel Energy and three other Colorado utilities plan to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market operated by the California Independent System Operator in 2021, saying it will help them meet clean-energy goals and provide the most benefit to customers compared with alternatives.
Elizaveta Malashenko, Deputy Executive Director of Safety and Enforcement Policy at the California Public Utilities Commission, is leaving the job, CPUC officials said at the commission's Dec. 19 meeting. Malashenko was a safety panelist at energy committee hearings at the State Legislature …
Monterey Bay Community Power made a significant expansion, adding 11 jurisdictions in two counties following a Dec. 4 board vote.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 11 issued a proposed decision that would modify its Self-Generation Incentive Program to support renewable-energy and grid-resiliency projects, consistent with legislation passed in 2018. The proposed decision authorizes ratepayer collection…
Southern California Gas Co. violated 330 requirements of the state's Public Utilities Code during the Aliso Canyon well-failure incident in 2015, state energy regulators said Dec. 5.
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, reacting to a lawsuit filed against the utility by the federal government, says it does not believe it caused the Creek Fire that occurred in December 2017. The government's lawsuit against LADWP alleges its equipment caused the fire and that …
Certain system performance data issued by the California Independent System Operator has been inaccurate since late September, with no clear indication of when or whether it will be available again.
Oakland International Airport officials on Nov. 27 were investigating the cause of a power outage that affected terminal and flight operations the prior evening, as Thanksgiving holiday travel began in earnest. Power to the terminal was fully restored at about 10 p.m. Nov. 26 and operations …
Pacific Gas & Electric on Nov. 21 had restored power to "essentially all" of about 50,000 customer accounts it had de-energized the previous day due to high-fire-risk conditions, after the utility dramatically scaled back the scope of the outage.
The California Energy Commission is funding a new program to speed the commercialization of clean-energy technologies. The California Test Bed initiative is designed to reduce the stumbling blocks of time, cost and bureaucracy most entrepreneurs face when trying to bring breakthrough concept…
Southern California Edison reached agreements with 23 public entities to settle claims arising from three disasters in 2017 and 2018. The utility on Nov. 13 said the parties, which include cities, counties and special districts, reached the settlements in principle totaling $360 million afte…
Southern California Gas Co., the Retirement Housing Foundation and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power said they have completed a two-year, $1-million energy-efficiency project at Angelus Plaza in downtown Los Angeles. The efficiency upgrades are estimated to save more than $150,…
Pattern Energy and Pattern Development—companies known for developing renewable-energy projects in the western U.S.—will be acquired by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a transaction valued at $6.1 billion.
The Arizona Corporation Commission at a Nov. 6 meeting approved Arizona Public Service's application for a certificate of environmental compatibility authorizing a new, 1.45-mile, 230-kV transmission line to serve data-center projects underway in the town of Goodyear, west of Phoenix [L-0000…
Increased natural gas cycling due to higher penetration of intermittent renewables on the grid is not increasing air pollution levels, according to a recent data review by a Union of Concerned Scientists analyst.
Salt River Project, operator of the 2,250-MW coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona, said the plant will close before its lease with the Navajo Nation expires Dec. 22.
Northern California entities interested in purchasing Pacific Gas & Electric distribution assets continue to submit bids to the bankrupt utility, the latest of which is a $300-million offer on Oct. 18 by Valley Clean Energy.
The Arizona Corporation Commission at a brief meeting Oct. 22 approved a certificate of environmental compatibility for a 12-mile, 345-kV gen-tie line, two new substations and one new switching station in Northern Arizona [L-21080A-19-0171-00182]. The facilities are intended to connect a pla…
Southern California Gas Co. said it "continues to assess conditions" at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility following the Saddleridge Fire, which affected the community of Porter Ranch near Los Angeles.
Southern California Edison continues executing and warning of potential public-safety power shut-offs throughout its service area.
Southern California Edison is soliciting bids from electricity providers for its demand-response resource-adequacy program.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 declined to hear San Diego Gas & Electric's appeal of prior rulings that prevented it from collecting from its customers $379 million resulting from wildfires that occurred in 2007.
Pacific Gas & Electric could be nearing a settlement with state safety officials on its role in sparking multiple wildfires that were part of the October 2017 North Bay fire siege, according to filings at the California Public Utilities Commission.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 2 signed 22 bills aimed at wildfire prevention, mitigation and response, reflecting recommendations of the Governor's Strike Force Report issued in June.
The U.S. Trustee overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy proceeding is raising concerns about exorbitant fees charged by attorneys representing various parties in the reorganization process.
Southern California Gas Co. on Oct. 3 said about 100 local governments have joined efforts by investor-owned utilities to keep natural gas alive in California's buildings. Meanwhile, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a statement intended to rebut "false and misleading" claims…
Public-safety power shut-offs became a reality for tens of thousands of Northern Californians this week as Pacific Gas & Electric shut off electricity to rural counties and the North Bay area twice due to high-fire-risk conditions.
A new community energy project is providing 12,000 low-income residents in the Imperial and Coachella valleys with solar power and decreasing their monthly bills.
The City of San Jose is the latest municipality in California to pass building-electrification reach codes designed to transition from natural gas to all-electric buildings.
East Bay Community Energy on Sept. 18 greenlighted two solar and storage power-purchase agreements for projects in Kern County that are scheduled to come on line in December 2022.
Electricity customers near Santa Barbara had their power shut off by Southern California Edison last weekend due to heavy wind gusts that were increasing the threat of wildfires in the area, the investor-owned utility said.
Public Service Company of New Mexico made modeling errors in one of the replacement resource plan scenarios it submitted to regulators as part of its July 1 application for abandonment of the San Juan Generating Station, the utility said Sept. 12.
The California State Senate on Sept. 4 passed a resolution outlining its expectations for Pacific Gas & Electric's eventual exit from bankruptcy, including a provision that asks that contracts related to state environmental targets or reliability remain in place.
Southern California Edison is offering to sell renewable-energy credits produced by its Biofuel Renewable Auction Mechanism facilities, which are electricity generation facilities that use California's dead and dying trees to make power.
The Carlsbad City Council on Aug. 20 voted to start negotiations with the cities of Del Mar, Oceanside and Encinitas to form a community choice aggregation joint-powers authority that would launch in 2021.
After getting one final permit, Whooshh Innovations will begin to test and demonstrate new technology that not only transports fish, but also attracts and sorts them.
The best opportunity for microgrid growth is likely in areas with public-safety power shut-offs, and a single natural disaster does not lead to significant microgrid development within an individual state, a new study found.
A Southern California energy agency on Aug. 19 said it had signed a contract to supply about 22 MW of wind energy to three community choice aggregators in the region.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District's board of directors approved a resolution at its Aug. 15 regular meeting "signaling intent" to purchase Pacific Gas & Electric's Chili Bar hydroelectric project [P-2155].
Valley Clean Energy in Yolo County is considering a purchase of Pacific Gas & Electric's electric distribution assets, adding to the list of cities and localities exploring a similar acquisition.
A new solar power program for affordable housing began accepting customer applications on July 1 and, after one day and a knee-high stack of requests, is almost full.
The Western Energy Imbalance Market has accrued $736.26 million in benefits since its 2014 launch, according to the California Independent System Operator’s quarterly report.
San Diego Gas & Electric on Aug. 8 presented its updated wildfire-prevention model to the California Energy Commission, saying the model will focus on artificial intelligence and big data in order to mitigate wildfire risk during periods of high fire danger.
Six California community choice aggregators issued a joint request for proposals seeking technical consulting services for creation of their next integrated resource plans.
Arizona Public Service plans to add a combined 400 MW of solar and wind resources to bring its renewable-energy portfolio to 2.5 GW by 2022.
