Western Colorado residents oppose methane flaring plan; U.S. Energy Department invests $325 million in energy storage projects.

Some western Colorado residents have pushed back on a proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by flaring methane leaking from an abandoned Colorado coal mine, saying it would reverse 30 years of reclamation work. The U.S. Energy Department awards $325 million for long-duration energy storage demonstration projects, including $70 million to install iron-air batteries at a retiring coal plant in Colorado and $50 million for a 1,200 MW pumped thermal storage project in Alaska. Wyoming researchers find light-colored wind turbines attract insects and their avian predators, and painting them darker colors would reduce bird and bug collisions. A Washington state judge upholds a $17 billion state transportation and climate package, rejecting opponents’ claims it is unconstitutional. A U. S. House subcommittee plans to probe last month’s deadly Maui wildfires, with a focus on Hawaiian Electric equipment”s role in sparking the blaze.