MID-WEEK NEWS CODEX: California Climate Law; Valar Atomics; Octopus

• Business Groups Petition U.S. Supreme Court to Pause California Climate Law: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups filed an emergency appeal on November 15, 2025, requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to put California’s climate reporting laws on hold while legal challenges continue, the AP reported. The laws take effect January 1, 2026. SB 253, known as the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires companies with revenues of more than $1 billion to report their greenhouse gas emissions related to both operations and their supply chain. SB 261, known as the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, requires companies with annual revenue of more than $500 million and that do business in California to disclose publicly the climate-related financial risks to their company and how they will address them. (see Climate Reporting Laws: Comparison of Key Provisions.)" CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
• California Energy Price Data for October 2025: "Gasoline and diesel price levels showed minor effects in October from the October 3 El Segundo Refinery Fire, with overall average prices in California largely stable throughout the month but with some moderate increases in some regions. The primary price effect was seen in the spread between prices in the state and in the rest of the country, which grew by 11 cents on average from September as prices in the other states (with the exception of some prices in the Midwest as the result of refinery disruption) more directly reflected softening crude prices. Southern California, however, has experienced a recent rise in prices due to ongoing refinery maintenance related to the mandated changeover in fuel formulations." CENTER FOR JOBS & THE ECONOMY
• El Segundo-Based Valar Atomics Splits the Atom

Today, Valar Atomics became the first startup in history to split the atom.

Announcing Project Nova, a series of zero power critical tests on Valar Atomics' Nova Core in collaboration with Los Alamos NCERC and NNSS.

Nova went critical for the first time this morning at 11:45am. pic.twitter.com/EanSIeaAtS

— Isaiah Taylor - making nuclear reactors (@isaiah_p_taylor) November 17, 2025

• New PG&E Electrification Impact Study – Smart Planning Can Lower Long-Term Costs: "The two major findings: electrification will require significant new investment, and, if managed well, it can actually make the grid more affordable to operate. PG&E modeled three scenarios to capture different futures. The Base Scenario used current planning practices and customer behaviors. The Equity Scenario expanded electrification in disadvantaged, low-income, and Tribal communities to match their share of the population, resulting in higher overall adoption of DER and electrification technologies. The Enhanced Demand Flexibility Scenario added load management that shifts or reduces peaks at times and places that matter most for the grid. Across these cases, total distribution system investment needs through 2040 ranged from $23B-$31B. Compared to the Base Scenario, the Enhanced Demand Flexibility Scenario achieved an estimated savings of about $1.8 billion, showing how well-targeted flexibility can meaningfully reduce grid costs." E3
• Octopus Extends its Tentacles into America: "In the near future, Octopus Shift is also going to empower customers to manage their devices against a time-of-use rate they might be on. It’s not just saving money with a once-a-month payment for capacity when a demand response event gets called, but it’s also helping you save money every single day by making sure your EV is charging during the off-peak period or pre-cooling your home during the off-peak period. " VOLTS
• Power Behind the Redwood Curtain – A History of Electric Transmission and Natural Gas Infrastructure in Humboldt County: "While some investments have been made in Humboldt County’s energy infrastructure in the six decades following the post-war buildout, they have focused primarily on maintaining the capacity and architecture of the existing system, hardening some system components, and – in the case of the nuclear unit of the Humboldt Bay power plant – decommissioning. There have been no large investments in expanding the capacity of the electric transmission and natural gas pipeline infrastructure serving the county since the mid 1960s." SCHATZ ENERGY RESEARCH CENTER
• Report – California Data Center Emissions Tripled from 2019 to 2023, Could Drive $266M in Annual Health Costs by 2028: "In 2019, the average carbon intensity for electricity in California was just under half the national average. Yet even though California’s grid is among the cleanest in the country, the report finds that greenhouse gas emissions from data center operations are still climbing — primarily due to the grid’s continued reliance on natural gas plants as generating electricity from fossil fuels brings significant health impacts. Both the off-site natural gas plants and the onsite diesel generators — still the primary backup system for most data centers — emit nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter that worsen respiratory and cardiovascular disease." NEXT10 (Full Report)
• The Case for Virtual Power Plants: "A July 29 California ISO demonstration showed the capability of VPPs. In the test, more than 100,000 participating systems were jointly dispatched during the 7 PM – 9 PM peak demand window. During that period, these behind-the-meter batteries sent an average of 539 megawatts back to the grid, accounting for about 1.9% of CAISO net peak during the test period..." INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS and FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
• There is No Mystery Surcharge Driving Up California's Gasoline Costs: "If refiners are earning exceptionally high profits in California, then why are they shutting down their operations in the state? You would think that companies would want to expand their production where they earn excessively high profits. The answer, of course, is that companies are not earning enormous profits in California." PACIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
• Trump Offshore Drilling Plan Focuses on Santa Barbara Coast: "The Trump administration is proposing to offer six lease sales off the coast of California between 2027 and 2030 as part of its five-year offshore drilling plan, the Washington Post reported. The proposed lease sales would primarily be offshore from Santa Barbara County, the New York Times reported, where Sable Offshore Corp. is looking to restart three drilling rigs in federal waters. Governor Gavin Newsom said offshore oil drilling is 'overwhelmingly opposed by members of all political parties in the state of California.' He called it 'dead on arrival in California.'" CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL