NEWS CODEX: Wildfire-Detection Satellites; CRC's Carbon Storage Work
Avantus Secures $525 Million to Support Major California Solar-Plus-Storage Project: "The installation is currently under construction in eastern Kern County, and is expected to enter commercial operation by year-end. The financing package includes a tax equity bridge and letters of credit in addition to the construction funding." POWER
BESS Developer Opts for California Energy Commission Fast-Track Approval After Facing Local County Ordinance Obstacles: "Developer New Leaf Energy withdrew its application for a battery energy storage system in Santa Cruz County, California, US, choosing to seek approval through the California Energy Commission. Shortly after the developer’s decision, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted on 30 June, unanimously to defer a local ordinance regulating BESS. New Leaf Energy initially filed an application with Santa Cruz County in late 2024 seeking permission to construct a BESS facility valued at approximately US$200 million on Minto Road, outside of Watsonville, California." ENERGY STORAGE NEWS
California Built the World's Largest Community Power Network – Why Dismantle it Now? "The program, called Demand Side Grid Support, is a cornerstone of the state’s clean-energy and affordability strategy. Weakening this successful collaboration with residents would be a multimillion dollar mistake that would hurt every single ratepayer in California, not just the families who participate. Fortunately, Newsom signed the state budget this week, keeping DSGS operating through the end of the year. While this is an important first step, it is only temporary. Now, lawmakers must decide whether to preserve and expand one of California’s most successful energy programs, or begin dismantling it." BAKERSFIELD.COM
How Wildfires Could Give Trump and Newsom Something to Agree On: "Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump are both trying to own the future of fighting wildfires with technology. Newsom used the launch of three new wildfire-detection satellites from the Central Coast’s Vandenberg Space Force Base this week to draw a contrast with Trump, pillorying the president’s budget and job cuts to forest and public lands agencies. The satellites, built by California manufacturer Muon Space and launched with support from a global nonprofit coalition called Earth Fire Alliance, will feed the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection real-time data on wildfires from space." POLITICO
Peak Energy to Build 4 GWh Grid-Scale Sodium-Ion BESS Factory in California: "Sodium-ion battery startup Peak Energy says its $71 million factory will be the first facility in the United States dedicated to grid-scale sodium-ion energy storage systems. Shipments are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027." ESS NEWS
The Dismal Economics of Floating Offshore Wind: "Proponents of floating offshore wind, to be charitable, want economic growth. But for economic growth to benefit everyone in the economy, it has to be a financially sustainable investment. Floating offshore wind does nothing of the sort. It would rob electricity ratepayers statewide in order to profit developers who could not hope to make their projects compete in a fair market. In Humboldt Bay, the state’s other proposed staging area for floating offshore wind farms, the economy would grow if responsible logging was permitted at the scale it attained forty years ago, while adding reasonable safeguards." CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
The Electrification Movement is Cooking with Gas: "The Bay Area Air District — historically one of the most progressive regional air regulators in the nation — will vote in November on the future of a regulation that would ban the sale and installation of gas-powered water heaters in 2027 and furnaces in 2029. While 10 board members voiced support for keeping the rules in place during a May hearing, another eight said they would support suspending them entirely. That’s already a major shift from 2023, when only one board member abstained from voting to pass the rule." POLITICO
Southern California Clean-Heat Rule Survives Key Legal Challenge: "Southern California’s landmark rule to slash emissions from industrial heating sources just notched a major victory in court. The region has some of the worst air quality in the U.S., and the gas-fueled boilers and water heaters that serve its factories and large buildings are a key culprit." CANARY MEDIA
The Oil Company Pivoting to Carbon Storage and Data Centers: "California Resources Corporation, an energy company with its headquarters in Long Beach, is branching out as the state pushes toward a future that uses less oil. In May, CRC began injecting carbon dioxide underground in Kern County’s Elk Hills. Its goal is to store carbon dioxide emissions from its nearby natural gas power plant in a depleted oil reservoir called Carbon TerraVault One." POLITICO
Trump Chips Away at CARB, Yet Again: "The most recent hit came last week, when the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would end a longstanding practice of allowing California to act as the de facto national regulator of aftermarket car parts. This matters because the state has long policed aftermarket parts that can inadvertently or intentionally affect emissions controls on cars and trucks, causing them to spew more pollution into the air that harms public health." POLITICO