Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** The U.S. needs more power lines to meet clean energy goals
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Friday, April 7, 2023
Wind energy development in the California Desert. Photo courtesy of Tom Brewster Photography, BLM Flickr ([link removed])

For solar and wind to supply greater amounts of electricity in order to replace the coal, oil, and natural gas that are harming the planet, the United States will need a lot more transmission lines ([link removed]) to carry renewable power from the nation’s sunniest and windiest places to big cities that use huge amounts of power.

The REPEAT Project led by Princeton University researchers reported ([link removed]) that 80 percent of the potential carbon pollution cuts made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act could be lost if the U.S. fails to accelerate the build-out of its electric power grid.

As Sammy Roth writes in the Los Angeles Times' Boiling Point newsletter ([link removed]) , California offers a case study of the challenging headwinds for adding more renewable power to the grid. A state law requires 90 percent clean energy by 2035 and 100 percent by 2045, milestones that will require billions of dollars in investment ([link removed]) to build new power lines and upgrade existing wires. Despite the imperative to build more transmission lines in order to bring more clean energy onto the power grid, it's a tough sell to get consumers and utilities to want to pay for them; investments will likely be funded by increased utility bills at a time when electricity costs are already rising rapidly
([link removed]) , straining cash-strapped consumers. In addition, the process of approving long distance transmission lines with some routes traversing multiple states and hundreds of landowners ([link removed]) can take a decade or more.


** New podcast: Making conservation more inclusive
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Kate and Aaron are joined by the co-chairs of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition ([link removed]) , a new group that came together to ensure conservation benefits marginalized and overly burdened communities. Nse Witherspoon, executive director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network, and Mark Magaña, founder and CEO of GreenLatinos, talk about their coalition’s 2023 policy agenda as well as funding opportunities for groups that are working toward a more just and equitable conservation movement on the latest episode of The Landscape ([link removed]) .
Quick hits


** How the massive Willow drilling project will impact Alaska's people, wildlife, and tundra environment
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Biden vetoes congressional attack on rule to clarify Clean Water Act's reach
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Tucson to leave one third of its water supply in Lake Mead
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Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** White House announces funding to transition coal and fossil fuel-dependent communities to clean energy
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New Mexico Political Report ([link removed]) | Clean Technica ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** As park visits surge, one firm is making millions
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Wall Street Journal ([link removed])


** The U.S. needs more power lines to meet clean energy goals
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Want to bridge the West's water divides? Start with 5th-grade pen pals
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KUNC ([link removed])


** Opinion: New BLM rule a much-needed change for public land management
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Bozeman Daily Chronicle ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” They start looking at their pen pals as somebody that they can become friends with, and somebody that they can share experiences with. After learning and sharing experiences, it becomes a little easier to wrap your head around sharing water.”
—Megan Dean, Roaring Fork Conservancy, KUNC ([link removed])
Picture this


** @BLMNational ([link removed])
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Happy #NationalWildlifeWeek ([link removed]) ! Join us as we celebrate the animals that call our public lands home. 🦎🦊🦌 #DYK ([link removed]) - the BLM manages more wildlife habitat than any federal or state agency? BLM-managed lands are vital to thousands of mammal, reptile, avian, and amphibian species.

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